Varaha Purana 112.17: Adhyaya 112, Shloka 17
Praise and Procedure of Donating the Two-Faced Kapilā Cow and the Golden Pot
Hema-kumbha
Uttara Bhāga · Dāna-Dharma (Consequences and prohibition of acceptance)
पतितैः स हि विज्ञेयश्चाण्डालसदृशोऽधमः ॥ तस्मान्न प्रतिगृह्णीयाच्छ्रूद्राद्विप्रः प्रतिग्रहम् ॥
patitaiḥ sa hi vijñeyaś cāṇḍāla-sadṛśo 'dhamaḥ || tasmān na pratigṛhṇīyāc chrūdrād vipraḥ pratigraham ||
patitaiH sa hi vij~neyashchANDAlasadRRisho.adhamaH || tasmAnna pratigRRihNIyAchChrUdrAdvipraH pratigraham
जो इंसान गिर गया है, उसे समझना चाहिए कि वो नीचे गिर चुका है। वो बिलकुल चंडाल जैसा हो गया है। इसलिए कोई भी पंडित शूद्र से कुछ गिफ्ट मत लेना चाहिए।
Sandhi Notes
- विज्ञेयश्चाण्डालसदृशोऽधमः = विज्ञेयः + च + चाण्डाल-सदृशः + अधमः
- तस्मान्न = तस्मात् + न
- प्रतिगृह्णीयाच्छ्रूद्राद्विप्रः = प्रतिगृह्णीयात् + शूद्रात् + विप्रः
Varāha
Pratigraha is morally potent; improper acceptance corrupts the recipient’s dharmic identity and standing.
Within the text’s framework, regulate acceptance of gifts by prescribed eligibility rules; cultivate non-greed and discernment in receiving.
A vipra should not accept gifts (pratigraha) from a Śūdra; one who does is deemed fallen, base, like a caṇḍāla.
Violation results in patitatva (loss of standing) and severe demerit; restraint preserves ritual-social integrity and merit.
Varāha Purāṇa 112.16 (desire-driven acceptance and degradation)
FAQs
It documents a normative boundary in premodern Sanskrit ethics regarding gift exchange and status, useful for historians of dharma literature.
No geographic location is identified.
It forbids certain forms of gift-acceptance and frames them as status-degrading within the text’s moral logic.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
