Varaha Purana 132.37: Adhyaya 132, Shloka 37
Expiatory Rites for Contact with a Corpse and with a Menstruating Woman
Uttara Bhāga · Ethical Warnings and Karmic Consequences (Prāyaścitta Adjacent)
ज्ञात्वा कर्मापराधं तु न स पापेन लिप्यते ॥ एतत्ते कथितं भद्रे मिथुनं योऽभिगच्छति ॥
jñātvā karmāparādhaṃ tu na sa pāpena lipyate | etat te kathitaṃ bhadre mithunaṃ yo 'bhigacchati ||
j~nAtvA karmAparAdhaM tu na sa pApena lipyate || etatte kathitaM bhadre mithunaM yo.abhigachChati
जब इंसान अपनी गलती समझ लेता है, तो उसको पाप नहीं लगता। यह मैंने तुम्हे बताया है भद्री, जो कोई गलत रिश्ता जोड़ता है उसके बारे में।
Sandhi Notes
- कर्मापराधम् = कर्म-अपराधम्
- एतत्ते = एतत् ते
- योऽभिगच्छति = यः अभिगच्छति
Varāha (contextual continuation; speaker not re-marked but consistent)
Curious; seeking guidance on behavioral boundaries
How does recognizing a karmic offense affect sin, and what norms apply regarding sexual union (mithuna)?
Jñāna of one’s own fault (aparādha-bodha) is the pivot for non-taint—prompting restraint, confession, expiation, and corrected conduct.
Cultivate conscience and reflective discernment; when a fault is recognized, immediately adopt corrective discipline and avoid repetition (especially in sexual ethics, as the next lines likely specify).
Continues ethical instruction to Bhūdevī, shifting from general karmic offense to sexual conduct norms.
Awareness/recognition of karmic offense is presented as preventing sinful taint; the instruction transitions to rules concerning sexual union (context incomplete in the excerpt).
Recognizing wrongdoing (and implied restraint/rectification) prevents/mitigates pāpa-lepa; heedlessness implies continued bondage and demerit (full specifics depend on the continued passage).
Likely continuation within Varāha Purāṇa 132.132ff on mithuna-niyama and related prayāścitta (not included here).
FAQs
It shows how Purāṇic texts embed moral psychology (recognition of wrongdoing) alongside prescriptive norms, a feature relevant to the history of South Asian ethical literature.
No geographic reference occurs in this fragment.
Moral awareness (jñāna of aparādha) is presented as pivotal in preventing further ethical ‘staining,’ framing conduct in terms of accountability and self-recognition.
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