Varaha Purana 126.97: Adhyaya 126, Shloka 97
The Greatness of Kubjāmraka: Raibhya’s Boon and the Teaching on the Sacred Tīrthas
Uttara Bhāga · Rājadharma and Tīrtha-māhātmya (Sacred Geography)
सर्वांस्तान्दण्डयामो हि तीव्रदण्डैर्यथोचितम् ॥ साधून्ये चापि हिंसन्ति ह्यपराधविवर्जितान्
sarvāṁs tān daṇḍayāmo hi tīvradaṇḍair yathocitam || sādhūn ye cāpi hiṁsanti hy aparādhavivarjitān
sarvAMstAndaNDayAmo hi tIvradaNDairyathochitam || sAdhUnye chApi hiMsanti hyaparAdhavivarjjitAn
हम सब को सज़ा देते हैं, जो भी गलत काम करे। जो लोग अच्छे लोग को तकलीफ देते हैं, जबकि वो कुछ बुरा नहीं किए, उनको भी हम सज़ा देते हैं। यह सज़ा उनकी गलती के हिसाब से होती है।
Varāha
Seeking order/justice (implied), reassured by commitment to punish harmers
How does divine/righteous governance respond to unjust violence against the innocent and virtuous?
Compassion for the innocent requires firmness toward aggressors; true protection includes deterrence and correction.
In governance and community ethics, prioritize safeguarding the blameless; apply proportionate penalties; do not normalize violence against the virtuous.
Varāha speaks as cosmic ruler/protector asserting daṇḍa (punitive justice) against those who harm the innocent/virtuous.
Daṇḍa is an aspect of Viṣṇu’s sustaining power: the Lord restrains adharma so that sattva and dharma can flourish on Earth.
Punishment-as-restraint parallels yajña’s ‘ordering’ function—separating pure/impure, protecting the ‘aparādha-vivarjita’ (faultless) like preserving the sanctity of the rite.
Iśvara as dharma-niyantṛ: governance is not arbitrary but ‘yathocitam’ (according to fitness), reflecting cosmic lawfulness rather than personal wrath.
Those who harm the virtuous and innocent deserve appropriate severe punishment; daṇḍa must be proportionate and protective of sādhus.
Upholding daṇḍa protects social-moral order; perpetrators incur punishment (here and/or hereafter implied) and loss of standing/merit.
VP 126.36 (prajāpāla—guardianship principle)
FAQs
It reflects a Purāṇic presentation of rājadharma (kingly duty), emphasizing proportionate punishment and protection of the blameless—ideas shared across Sanskrit normative literature.
No specific location is named in this verse; the focus is juridical/ethical rather than geographic.
That harming the innocent and virtuous warrants strict, appropriate punishment; governance is framed as safeguarding non-offenders.
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