Varaha Purana 111.5 — Adhyaya 111, Shloka 5
The Eulogy of Donating a Tawny (Kapilā) Cow
स तेन पुण्यतोयेन तत्क्षणाद्दग्धकिल्बिषः ॥ त्रिंशद्वर्षकृतं पापं दहत्यग्निरिवेन्धनम् ॥
sa tena puṇyatoyena tatkṣaṇād dagdhakilbiṣaḥ || triṃśadvarṣakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ dahaty agnir ivendhanam ||
उस पुण्य जल से वह उसी क्षण पाप-दोषों से दग्ध हो जाता है; वह तीस वर्षों में संचित पाप को अग्नि की भाँति ईंधन की तरह जला देता है।
Hotā
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"seeking assurance about efficacy of expiation","key_question":"What is the immediate karmic effect of venerating/using that sacred cow-water?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"prayaschitta","instruction_summary":"Sacred kapilā-water, approached with devotion, functions as an instant expiation, burning accumulated sins.","karmic_consequence":"Immediate destruction of faults; sins of thirty years are consumed like fuel in fire (metaphor of total combustion)."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"Purification is portrayed as ‘agni-like’ transformation: contact with sanctity converts karmic residue into ash, emphasizing irreversible cleansing.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Fire metaphor aligns with yajña’s purifying agni; the water acts as a carrier of that purificatory principle in purāṇic practice.","vedantic_connection":"Karma-kṣaya through grace-mediated means: devotion plus sanctified medium accelerates purification beyond ordinary temporal effort."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ethics of transformation","core_concept":"Karmic impurities can be decisively removed through potent, devotionally accessed purifiers.","practical_application":"Adopt purificatory disciplines with sincerity; treat repentance and sacred contact as catalysts for ethical renewal."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Ritual Expiation","Metaphor in Sanskrit Literature"]
Primary Rasa: vīra (moral force)
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: purificatory rite context
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 111.4.0 (the act)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A symbolic scene where the devotee’s impurities are shown as dark smoke or soot being instantly consumed by a bright flame-like aura arising from the sacred water.","item_prompts":["sacred water vessel","flame motif","dark soot/smoke dissolving","devotee in purified glow","fire consuming fuel (wood) as comparison"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized flame aura behind the water vessel, dark-to-light transition around devotee, strong contouring and ritual symbolism.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold flame halo, embossed fire-and-water juxtaposition, dramatic contrast of dark sin-clouds and radiant purification.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: subtle luminous aura, refined metaphor—small fire brazier with wood nearby to echo ‘agni-iva indhanam’, serene devotee.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative vignette with a small fire consuming sticks beside the devotee, light washes showing sin-clouds dispersing into sky."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"assertive and cleansing","suggested_raga":"Hamsadhwani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"firm, confident, uplifting"}
FAQs
It exemplifies Purāṇic expiatory rhetoric—quantifying moral purification—useful for comparative studies of prāyaścitta motifs across Sanskrit genres.
None; the verse uses a universal metaphor rather than a place reference.
It frames purification as attainable through disciplined, reverential practice, emphasizing moral self-cultivation.
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