Varaha Purana 171.43: Adhyaya 171, Shloka 43
Śuka’s Ocean Voyage: Adverse Winds, Arrival at a Viṣṇu Shrine, and Aid from the Jaṭāyu Birds
Uttara Bhāga · Narrative Dialogue (Gokarṇa–Śuka episode; pilgrimage-geography motif)
निरीक्ष्यतेऽस्य संवासो न दृष्टश्चुक्रुशुस्ततः ॥ कुतोऽसौ गतवान्भद्रो मृतो नष्टो जले प्लुतः ॥
nirīkṣyate ’sya saṃvāso na dṛṣṭaś cukruśus tataḥ || kuto ’sau gatavān bhadro mṛto naṣṭo jale plutaḥ ||
nirIkShyate.asya saMvAso na dRRiShTashchukrushustataH || kuto.asau gatavAnbhadro mRRito naShTo jale plutaH
लोगों ने उसके घर को देखा, वो वहाँ नहीं मिला। फिर सब चिल्लाने लगे। भाई, वो आदमी कहाँ गया? क्या वो मर गया, कहीं खो गया, या पानी में बह गया?
Sandhi Notes
- ’sya = asya
- dṛṣṭaś = dṛṣṭaḥ
- kuto ’sau = kutaḥ asau
- gatavān bhadro = gatavān bhadraḥ (visarga sandhi)
Narrator
Where has the good man gone—did he die, vanish, or get swept away by water?
Human life is uncertain; compassion expresses itself as active vigilance and inquiry, not passive worry.
When someone under one’s care is missing, act promptly—search, call out, verify—rather than assume fate.
The fear of being ‘swept away in water’ mirrors the Purāṇic archetype of beings lost in the flood of saṃsāra—implicitly calling for the saving agency (often Viṣṇu/Varāha) though not named here.
Water as overwhelming dissolution; the missing ‘bhadra’ as the vulnerable jīva; the cry as the soul’s lament seeking rescue.
Saṃsāra as ‘jala’ (flow) and the need for a stabilizing refuge (śaraṇa) beyond uncertainty.
One should account for dependents/guests and investigate their welfare; negligence in guardianship or hospitality is blameworthy.
Diligent care and timely search uphold dharma; negligence invites sin, remorse, and social censure.
Varāha Purāṇa 171.43–46 (lodging, daily living, sea-landing, jewels)
FAQs
It exemplifies Purāṇic narrative technique: communal inquiry and lamentation used to transition into a moral-journey episode, typical of late-classical Sanskrit storytelling.
No specific site is named in this verse; it sets up a later movement toward named locations (e.g., Mathurā appears in subsequent verses).
The verse foregrounds communal responsibility and concern for a missing person, a narrative basis for later dharmic action.
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