Varaha Purana 165.5 — Adhyaya 165, Shloka 5
The Glory of Mathurā: The Account of Piṇḍa-Offering at the Catuḥsāmudrika Well
न तेन धर्मश्रवणं कदाचिदपि संश्रुतम् ॥ देवानां ब्राह्मणानां च भक्तिस्तस्य न विद्यते ॥
na tena dharmaśravaṇaṃ kadācid api saṃśrutam || devānāṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ ca bhaktis tasya na vidyate ||
គាត់មិនដែលស្តាប់ការបង្រៀនអំពីធម្មៈឡើយ។ ហើយក្នុងខ្លួនគាត់មិនមានភក្តិ ឬការគោរពចំពោះទេវតា និងព្រាហ្មណ៍ទាំងឡាយទេ។
Varāha (narrating)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"None","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"varnashrama","instruction_summary":"One should regularly hear dharma (dharma-śravaṇa) and maintain reverence (bhakti) toward devas and brāhmaṇas; refusal/neglect is adharma.","karmic_consequence":"Hearing and reverence cultivate puṇya, right understanding, and protection; neglect leads to ignorance-driven pāpa and loss of auspicious support."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"epistemic ethics (śravaṇa) + devotional ethics (bhakti/śraddhā)","core_concept":"Dharma requires both knowledge transmission (listening) and a posture of reverence; without these, prosperity becomes spiritually sterile.","practical_application":"Commit to periodic dharma-śravaṇa (Purāṇa, Smṛti, Gītā) and express respect through service/dāna to teachers and regular worship—transforming social duty into bhakti."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Education/Transmission"]
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: karuṇa
Type: social-religious sphere (sabha/temple/household)
Related Themes: Completes the triad of neglect: ritual (165.3), satsanga (165.4), and dharma-śravaṇa/bhakti (165.5)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A dharma discourse and temple worship happening nearby while Suśīla turns away—ears closed to teaching, hands not folded in reverence; brāhmaṇas and deity images remain unhonored.","item_prompts":["brāhmaṇas reciting with palm-leaf texts","small assembly (satsanga)","temple icon or home deity with lamps","Suśīla facing away/indifferent gesture","contrast of light (worship) vs shadow (neglect)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: luminous shrine and chanting brāhmaṇas; Suśīla in darker tones turning aside; strong outline and symbolic lamp-light contrast.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: deity and brāhmaṇas with gold radiance; Suśīla rendered with less gilding, positioned at margin to show alienation from sacred center.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined expressions—teachers compassionate, Suśīla indifferent; detailed lamps and manuscripts; balanced composition emphasizing moral choice.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: intimate village-temple scene; small discourse circle; Suśīla walking past; gentle landscape framing the ethical contrast."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic, reproachful","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"deep, weighty, admonishing"}
FAQs
It highlights dharmaśravaṇa as a key mechanism of moral education in Purāṇic culture—ethical life is tied to listening, learning, and maintaining respectful relations with custodians of tradition.
No additional location is named in this verse.
Neglecting moral instruction and lacking respect/devotion toward recognized ethical-religious authorities is depicted as a marker of decline in conduct.
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