Varaha Purana 47.18: Adhyaya 47, Shloka 18
The Rite of Śrāvaṇa Bright-Fortnight Dvādaśī (Dāmodara Worship) and the Exemplum of King Nṛga
Pūrva Bhāga · Dharma-śāstra Narrative (Karma, Varṇa, and Ritual Observance)
वामदेव उवाच । त्वमासीच्छूद्रजातीय अन्यजन्मनि पार्थिव । तत्र त्वया ब्राह्मणस्य प्रेषणं कुर्वता श्रुता । श्रावणस्य तु मासस्य शुक्लपक्षे तु द्वादशी ॥ ४७.१८ ॥
vāmadeva uvāca | tvam āsīc chūdrajātīya anyajanmani pārthiva | tatra tvayā brāhmaṇasya preṣaṇaṃ kurvatā śrutā | śrāvaṇasya tu māsasya śuklapakṣe tu dvādaśī || 47.18 ||
vAmadeva uvAcha | tvamAsIchChUdrajAtIya anyajanmani pArthiva | tatra tvayA brAhmaNasya preShaNaM kurvatA shrutA | shrAvaNasya tu mAsasya shuklapakShe tu dvAdashI || 47.18 ||
वामदेव ने कहा, राजा, तुम पहले जनम में शूद्र थे। एक बार तुमने एक ब्राह्मण को काम पे भेजा था। तब तुमने सुना कि श्रावण महीने की द्वादशी है, जब चाँद बढ़ रहा होता है।
Sandhi Notes
- āsīc chūdrajātīya → āsīt + śūdra-jātīyaḥ (final -t before ś becomes cch in recitation/orthography)
Vāmadeva
Birth is not ultimate identity; actions and dharmic contact (hearing of vrata) create transformative trajectories.
Do not be fatalistic about social origin; adopt dharmic observances and right conduct to reshape future outcomes.
Past-birth status and actions condition present outcomes; hearing/learning about an auspicious dvādaśī in Śrāvaṇa (śukla pakṣa) sets up a remedial/merit-making observance tied to karmic uplift.
Right observance (implied forthcoming) yields protection and elevation beyond birth-limits; neglect of dharmic opportunities perpetuates vulnerability and lower outcomes.
Śrāvaṇa-śukla-dvādaśī vrata (Vaiṣṇava dvādaśī; specific name not given in excerpt)
Implied: divine protection and karmic uplift across births; the narrative suggests the manifested protective devī is the fruit/sign of accrued merit (full phala likely stated in subsequent verses).
Varāha Purāṇa 47.47.17 (question); Varāha Purāṇa 47.47.19+ (likely continuation: details of the dvādaśī observance and its fruit)
FAQs
It illustrates common Purāṇic narrative techniques—linking present circumstances to prior births—and preserves calendrical terminology (lunar tithis and months) used in historical South Asian time-reckoning and ritual culture.
No specific place-name is mentioned in this verse; the focus is temporal (Śrāvaṇa, bright fortnight, dvādaśī) rather than geographic.
The verse frames ethical causality through rebirth and highlights attentive hearing/learning of ritual-time knowledge, implying that actions and awareness in one context can shape later outcomes.
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