Varaha Purana 155.56: Adhyaya 155, Shloka 56
The Efficacy and Sacred Merit of Akrūra Tīrtha
Uttara Bhāga · Dharma-kathā (Backstory: Brahmin Identity and Transgressive Habit)
अग्निदत्तस्तु वै नाम छान्दसो ब्राह्मणोत्तमः ॥ इष्टकांस्तु हरन्नित्यं परकीयांश्च सर्वदा
agnidattas tu vai nāma chāndaso brāhmaṇottamaḥ || iṣṭakāṃs tu haran nityaṃ parakīyāṃś ca sarvadā
agnidattastu vai nAma ChAndaso brAhmaNottamaH || iShTakAMstu harannityaM parakIyAMshcha sarvadA
मेरा नाम अग्निदत्त था। मैं एक अच्छा ब्राह्मण था। पर मैं रोज़ दूसरों की ईंट चुराता था।
Sandhi Notes
- अग्निदत्तस्तु = अग्निदत्तः + तु
- इष्टकांस्तु = इष्टकान् + तु
- परकीयांश्च = परकीयान् + च
Rākṣasa / Brahma-rākṣasa (narrating former identity)
Varṇa/learning does not shield one from karmic law; repeated small transgressions harden into destiny-shaping saṃskāras.
Avoid ‘minor’ habitual dishonesty; if wrong has been done, make restitution and break the pattern through disciplined vows and charity.
Even a learned brāhmaṇa falls by repeated theft—appropriating others’ building materials (iṣṭakā) is a serious transgression with grave post-mortem results.
Habitual theft leads to degradation (rākṣasa/brahma-rākṣasa condition) and obstructs auspicious rebirth; restitution/atonement is implied as the remedy.
Varāha Purāṇa 155.64 (desire for a fine home as the driving attachment)
FAQs
It provides a moralized biography: high social/religious status is contrasted with habitual theft, illustrating a Purāṇic theme that conduct (karma) outweighs nominal identity.
No explicit place-name is present; the transgression is described through property relations (“belonging to others”).
Persistent appropriation of others’ property is treated as a serious ethical breach with transformative consequences in the karmic narrative logic.
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