Varaha Purana 139.56: Adhyaya 139, Shloka 56
The Glory of Varāha’s Rite: Merits of Cow-dung Plastering, Sweeping, Singing, Instrumental Music, and Dance
with a Truth-Vow Exemplum
Uttara Bhāga · Dharma, Satya-vrata, and Narrative Ethics (Rākṣasa–Caṇḍāla episode)
जानन्कौणपपं तं च न त्वं मर्त्तुमिहार्हसि ॥ पुरुषस्य वचः श्रुत्वा चाण्डालः पुनरब्रवीत् ॥
jānan kauṇapapaṃ taṃ ca na tvaṃ martum ihārhasi || puruṣasya vacaḥ śrutvā cāṇḍālaḥ punar abravīt ||
jAnankauNapapaM taM cha na tvaM marttumihArhasi|| puruShasya vachaH shrutvA chANDAlaH punarabravIt
पता है वो बड़ा पापी है, फिर भी तुम्हे यहाँ मरने का कोई फायदा नहीं। उस आदमी की बात सुन के चंडाल ने फिर से जवाब दिया।
Sandhi Notes
- जानन्कौणपपं = जानन् + कौणपपम् (n + k → ṅk)
- मर्त्तुमिहार्हसि = मर्तुम् + इह + अर्हसि (m+i → mi; then iha+arhasi)
Brahmarākṣasa (first sentence, inferred) → Narrator (second sentence reporting response)
Even knowing someone is sinful, is self-sacrifice/death here justified—or should one refuse such an end?
Dharma is not blind reaction to another’s adharma; it requires discernment of proportional, life-affirming duty.
Before making irreversible sacrifices, test the motive: is it truth, compassion, or mere compulsion/avoidance?
Moral reasoning distinguishes between another’s sinfulness and one’s own duty: do not embrace death merely because the other is vile; evaluate dharma beyond reactive self-harm.
Following: preserves agency to choose dharma wisely; breaking: misguided ‘virtue’ can become self-destruction and enable evil.
Varāha Purāṇa 139.63 (caṇḍāla’s satya-vow response)
FAQs
It captures a persuasion strategy in Sanskrit narrative: the speaker argues from the opponent’s unworthiness to discourage self-sacrifice, illuminating ethical debate structures.
No geographic reference is present.
The tension is between prudence (not dying for an unworthy cause) and fidelity to a promise, which the narrative resolves in subsequent lines.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
