Varaha Purana 16.24: Adhyaya 16, Shloka 24
The Account of Saramā: Indra’s Restoration after Loss of Sovereignty
Pūrva Bhāga · Narratives of Devas and Messengers (Sarameya Episode)
तां देवराजः पप्रच्छ क्व गावः सरमेऽभवन् । एवमुक्ता तु सरमा न जानामीति चाब्रवीत् ॥ १६.२४ ॥
tāṃ devarājaḥ papraccha kva gāvaḥ sarame 'bhavan | evamuktā tu saramā na jānāmīti cābravīt || 16.24 ||
tAM devarAjaH paprachCha kva gAvaH sarame.abhavan | evamuktA tu saramA na jAnAmIti chAbravIt || 16.24 ||
इंद्र ने सरमा से पूछा, गई कहाँ हैं गाय? सरमा ने कहा, मुझे नहीं पता। उसने वही जवाब दिया।
Sandhi Notes
- sarame 'bhavan = sarame abhavan
- jānāmīti = jānāmi iti
- cābravīt = ca abravīt
- evamuktā = evam + uktā (no external sandhi change in writing)
Narrator (frame voice); dialogue attributed to Devarāja (Indra) and Saramā
Where have the (stolen/missing) cows gone?
Speech is karma: denial or concealment can become complicity in adharma.
Cultivate truthful, timely speech—especially when others’ welfare or dharma is at stake.
Truthfulness in speech is tested under pressure; withholding or denying knowledge becomes an ethical fault when it enables harm.
Truth protects one’s merit and social trust; deceit/obstruction invites blame and adverse results in later retaliation or punishment within the narrative.
Varāha Purāṇa 16.16.25-28 (anger escalation; violence against Saramā)
FAQs
It preserves a widely attested Indo-Aryan narrative motif—cattle as a symbol of wealth and social order—framed here through a concise interrogative exchange, reflecting Purāṇic reuse of older mythic materials.
No explicit geographic location is named in this verse; it is a situational question (“where are the cows?”) without a toponymic marker.
The verse foregrounds epistemic and moral tension in testimony: the act of questioning and the response “I do not know,” inviting reflection on truth-claims, concealment, and responsibility within a narrative inquiry.
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.
