Varaha Purana 188.42: Adhyaya 188, Shloka 42
Section on the Origin and Procedure of Piṇḍa-Rites and Śrāddha: Rules of Mourning Impurity
Aśauca
एकाकी दुःसहं लोके पथा येन स गच्छति ॥ कालो मृत्युश्च दूतश्च यष्टिमुद्यम्य पृष्ठतः ॥
ekākī duḥsahaṃ loke pathā yena sa gacchati || kālo mṛtyuś ca dūtaś ca yaṣṭim udyamya pṛṣṭhataḥ ||
वोह अकेला उस रास्ते पर चलता है। उसे बहुत तकलीफ होती है। उसके पीछे काल, मृत्यु और एक दूत चलते हैं। उनके हाथ में लाठी होती है।
Varāha (default dialogue framework)
FAQs
The verse illustrates a widespread Indic literary device: personified abstractions (Time/Death) acting as agents in moral-cosmological narratives.
None; the focus is the metaphorical/cosmological ‘path’ of the preta.
It reinforces the fragility of embodied life and the inevitability of death, encouraging responsible ritual and ethical preparation.
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