Varaha Purana 137.61: Adhyaya 137, Shloka 61
The Tale of the Vulture and the She-Jackal: The Māhātmya of the Saukarava Sacred Field
Uttara Bhāga · Narrative: Injury, identification of arrow, royal address
विद्धास्मि सोमदत्तेन बाणेन मृगलीप्सुना ॥ एतं शिरसि मे राजन्पश्य बाणं सुसंस्कृतम्
viddhāsmi somadattena bāṇena mṛgalīpsunā || etaṃ śirasi me rājan paśya bāṇaṃ susaṃskṛtam
viddhAsmi somadattena bANena mRRigalipsunA|| etaM shirasi me rAjanpashya bANaM susaMskRRitam
सोमदत्त ने मुझे तीर से मारा था, वो शिकार कर रहा था। राजा, देखो मेरा सर, अभी भी तीर पड़ा है।
Sandhi Notes
- विद्धास्मि = विद्धा + अस्मि
- राजन्पश्य = राजन् + पश्य
- सुसंस्कृतम् = सु + संस्कृतम्
Pṛthivī
Pained, wounded; seeking justice/recognition
Who is responsible for this harm, and will the king uphold dharma by responding appropriately?
Actions (like hunting) have victims and moral weight; naming the agent (‘Somadatta’) frames karma and social responsibility.
Exercise restraint in violence; rulers and communities should respond to harm with inquiry, restitution, and protection of the vulnerable.
Implicit rājadharma: the king must investigate violence/hunting harm and administer justice; also highlights ahiṃsā concerns around hunting.
Upholding justice: protection of subjects and dharmic order; ignoring: accrues royal demerit and social disorder.
Varāha Purāṇa 137 (narrative exemplum involving Somadatta and a king)
FAQs
It preserves narrative details about hunting and weapon material culture (the arrow described as well-crafted), offering data points for literary representations of royal/elite practices and moral causality.
No explicit place-name appears in this verse; it is an event description within a courtly narrative frame.
The verse sets up accountability and consequence (harm caused by hunting), a common Purāṇic narrative mechanism for ethical reflection.
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