Varaha Purana 136.7: Adhyaya 136, Shloka 7
A Sūtra-like Manual of Expiations for Ritual Transgressions
Uttara Bhāga · Prāyaścitta-karmasūtra (Concluding Instruction on Lamp-Contact)
शुचिर्भूत्वा यथान्यायं मम कर्मपथे स्थितः ॥ एतत्ते कथितं भद्रे स्पर्शने दीपकस्य तु
śucir bhūtvā yathā-nyāyaṁ mama karma-pathe sthitaḥ | etat te kathitaṁ bhadre sparśane dīpakasya tu ||
shuchirbhUtvA yathAnyAyaM mama karmapathe sthitaH || etatte kathitaM bhadre sparshane dIpakasya tu
पहले साफ हो जाना, पानी से नहाना। फिर मेरे बताए हुए तरीके से काम करना। मैंने तुम्हे पूरा बताया है कि दिया छूने पर क्या करना है। यह बात मैंने तुम्हे साफ-साफ समझा दी है।
Varāha
Attentive
What is the correct, rule-bound way (yathā-nyāya) to engage in your rite—specifically the lamp-touching practice?
Dharma is not only intention but also right method; purity and procedure safeguard spiritual efficacy.
Before lamp-rite, bathe/cleanse, maintain mental focus, and follow prescribed handling without negligence.
Direct address to Bhū-devī (‘bhadre’), conveying procedural purity regarding lamp-contact
Touching the lamp ‘properly’ symbolizes approaching knowledge/devotion with śuddhi and vidhi—purity is the ‘fit vessel’ for light.
Lamp as portable yajña-flame; ‘path of my rites’ frames devotion as a sacrificial pathway where purity is the altar-condition.
Sattva-śuddhi as prerequisite for jñāna-bhakti; external vidhi supports internal transformation.
Be purified and follow proper procedure on the path of my rites; the rule about touching/handling the ritual lamp is thus prescribed.
Correct purity and procedure preserve merit and remove fault; improper handling risks ritual defect and continued aparādha.
Auspiciousness through properly performed lamp-rite; avoidance of ritual fault
Varāha Purāṇa 136.6 (lamp-gift efficacy); Varāha Purāṇa 136.8 (impurity from cremation-ground contact)
FAQs
It functions as a closure marker typical of instructional units, indicating completion of a specific prāyaścitta topic within a broader procedural chapter.
No geographic location is identified.
To maintain purity and procedural correctness in ritual practice, particularly regarding the handling/contact of ritual implements (here, the lamp).
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