Varaha Purana 172.32: Adhyaya 172, Shloka 32
The Harm of Destroying a Grove and the Merit of Tree-Planting as Pūrta-Dharma
Uttara Bhāga · Ecological Narratives (Ārāma–vṛkṣa–dāna-phala)
गोकर्ण उवाच ॥ आरामकर्तुः किं चात्र फलं भवति यादृशम् ॥ करणात्कूपदेवानां तस्य पुण्यफलं वद ॥
gokarṇa uvāca | ārāmakartuḥ kiṁ cātra phalaṁ bhavati yādṛśam | karaṇāt kūpadevānāṁ tasya puṇyaphalaṁ vada |
gokarNa uvAcha || ArAmakartuH kiM chAtra phalaM bhavati yAdRRisham || karaNAtkUpadevAnAM tasya puNyaphalaM vada
गोकर्ण ने पूछा, अगर कोई बाग़ बनाए तो उसको क्या फल मिलता है? और जो कुआँ और बावली बनाए, उसको कितना पुण्य मिलता है? यह बताओ।
Sandhi Notes
- किं चात्र = kim ca atra
- करणात्कूपदेवानां = karaṇāt kūpa-devānām.
Gokarṇa
What specific merit (phala) accrues from creating an orchard and from constructing/establishing wells and the associated well-deities (kūpa-devatā)?
Merit is not only ritual (iṣṭa) but also welfare-creating action (pūrta) with ascertainable results.
Support ecological and water-heritage works (orchards, wells) as dharmic investments benefiting beings and accruing puṇya.
Public-benefit works (pūrta) such as orchards and wells are queried as meritorious acts with definable fruits.
Undertaking such pūrta-karma yields puṇya and auspicious post-mortem attainments proportional to the act (details answered in following verses).
Varāha Purāṇa 172.36-39 (answer: iṣṭa/pūrta theory; restoration of waterworks/temples; tree-planting fruits)
FAQs
It documents a didactic inquiry about the merit of maintaining orchards and wells, aligning moral discourse with public infrastructure in Purāṇic literature.
No explicit place-name is given; the focus is on general practices (orchards and wells) applicable across regions.
The verse frames orchard creation and well-construction as acts whose moral consequences are worth understanding, implying their social value.
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.
