Varaha Purana 24.20: Adhyaya 24, Shloka 20
The Birth of the Nāgas, Brahmā’s Curse, and the Pañcamī Observance
नागा ऊचुः । भगवन् कुटिला जातिरस्माकं भवता कृता । विषोल्बणत्वं क्रूरत्वं दृक्शस्त्रत्वं च नस्त्वया । सम्पादितं त्वया देव इदानीं शमयाच्युत ॥ २४.२० ॥
nāgā ūcuḥ | bhagavan kuṭilā jātir asmākaṃ bhavatā kṛtā | viṣolbaṇatvaṃ krūratvaṃ dṛk-śastratvaṃ ca nas tvayā | sampāditaṃ tvayā deva idānīṃ śamaya acyuta || 24.20 ||
नागों ने कहा, भगवान, आपने हमारी जाति को टेढ़ा बना दिया। आपने हम्मे ज़हर दिया, हम्मे कठोर बनाया, और हमारी नज़र को ऐसे बना दिया जैसे कोई हथियार हो। अब इसको ठीक करो, देव।
Nāgāḥ (the Nāgas)
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic dialogue motif where non-human communities (here, Nāgas) articulate their perceived condition as the result of divine causation, reflecting a literary strategy for explaining naturalized traits (venom, fearsome gaze) within a moral-cosmological framework.
No explicit geographic toponym appears in this verse; it is primarily a speech-act (petition) within a narrative sequence rather than a site-description.
The verse foregrounds restraint and pacification (śamana) of harmful capacities—venom, cruelty, and weaponized perception—presented as a request to reduce violence and restore social-cosmic balance.
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