Varaha Purana 119.16: Adhyaya 119, Shloka 16
Ritual Regulations on Permissible Foods for Offering and Consumption
Pūrva Bhāga · Ritual taxonomy (commended birds)
लावकं वार्त्तिकं चैव प्रशस्तं च कपिञ्जलम् ॥ एते चान्ये च बहवः शतशोऽथ सहस्रशः ॥
lāvakaṁ vārttikaṁ caiva praśastaṁ ca kapiñjalam || ete cānye ca bahavaḥ śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ |
lAvakaM vArttikaM chaiva prashastaM cha kapi~njalam || ete chAnye cha bahavaH shatasho.atha sahasrashaH
लावक, वार्तिक और कपिंजल - यह तीन पक्षी बहुत अच्छे माने जाते हैं। और इसके अलावा भी बहुत सारे पक्षी हैं। सौ-सौ और हज़ार-हज़ार की तादाद में, सब ठीक हैं।
Sandhi Notes
- चैव = च + एव
- चान्ये = च + अन्ये
- शतशोऽथ = शतशः + अथ (विसर्ग-लोप/ओऽ)।
Varāha
Curious; attentive to classificatory instruction
Which animals/birds are praised and acceptable as ritual items/offerings within your rite?
Śabda-pramāṇa: correct knowledge of dharmic categories (what is ‘praśasta’) is itself a component of right action.
Follow the enumerated approved categories; consult learned transmission/manuscripts to avoid misidentification of species-names.
Varāha speaks as ritual authority, implicitly guiding Bhū-devī on what creatures are acceptable/commendable in the rite.
Enumerates praised/approved fauna (lāvaka, vārttika, kapiñjala, etc.) as suitable items within a Vaiṣṇava ritual economy.
Using approved items supports auspiciousness and avoids ritual fault; using disapproved items risks doṣa and loss of merit.
Varāha Purāṇa 119.18–19 (competence and faultlessness by following Varāha’s word); Varāha Purāṇa 119.119.1–2 (parallel lists of ritual-eligible items and procedural insistence)
FAQs
It preserves vernacular/technical bird nomenclature embedded in Sanskrit, valuable for environmental history and lexicography.
No explicit location; the verse is a categorical list.
To rely on established classifications of suitability rather than arbitrary selection in sacred/ritual use.
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