Varaha Purana 38.4: Adhyaya 38, Shloka 4
The Hunter’s Austerity and the Gaining of Durvāsas’ Favor
Pūrva Bhāga · Narrative Dialogue (Didactic Episode)
मा भक्षयस्व सकटमुच्चैरेवं प्रभाषिते । ततोऽसौ तं विहायान्यद् वार्क्षं पतितमग्रहीत् ॥ ३८.४ ॥
mā bhakṣayasva sakaṭam uccair evaṃ prabhāṣite | tato 'sau taṃ vihāyānyad vārkṣaṃ patitam agrahīt || 38.4 ||
mA bhakShayasva sakaTamuchchairevaM prabhAShite | tato.asau taM vihAyAnyad vArkShaM patitamagrahIt || 38.4 ||
किसी ने आवाज़ दी, गाड़ी को मत खाओ। तो उसने वो छोड़ दिया। फिर उसने ज़मीन से एक टूटा हुआ लकड़ी का टुकड़ा उठा लिया।
Sandhi Notes
- सकटम्+उच्चैः→सकटमुच्चैः
- ततो+असौ→ततोऽसौ
- विहाय+अन्यत्→विहायान्यत्
- (पाठ) वार्क्षं = वृक्षसम्बन्धि (वृक्ष) विशेषणरूपम्।
Varāha
How does one interpret symbolic admonition (‘cart’) and translate it into concrete restraint in conduct?
True tapas is responsiveness to dharma: immediate course-correction and choosing the least harmful means of survival.
When corrected—by scripture, teacher, or conscience—change behavior at once; adopt ‘least-harm’ alternatives in daily consumption.
‘Do not devour the cart’ is a hyperbolic dharma-idiom: greed expands beyond need; restraint means limiting consumption to what is truly given.
Cart (śakaṭa) as the burden of saṃsāra/greed; choosing fallen wood/leaf as choosing ‘havis’ that does not injure the living altar (tree).
Vairāgya: cutting the mind’s exaggeration (ati-graha) and returning to the minimal necessary; freedom begins with right measure.
Obey dharmic warning immediately; abandon the harmful/forbidden object and choose a permissible alternative (here: taking only what is already fallen).
Prompt obedience strengthens self-mastery and accrues merit; stubbornness hardens vice and leads to downfall of tapas.
38.38.2–3: hunger and ākāśa-vāk; 38.38.1: guru-smṛti supporting restraint
FAQs
It exemplifies a common Purāṇic narrative technique: brief imperative instruction embedded in a story, reflecting how moral restraint is taught through episodic dialogue rather than formal law-code exposition.
No geographic location is named in this verse-fragment; it is a localized narrative moment involving an object (a cart) and a fallen wooden piece.
Restraint and redirection of harmful action: the command forbids destruction (“do not devour the cart”), leading to a shift toward a less damaging alternative.
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