Varaha Purana 167.25 — Adhyaya 167, Shloka 25
The Glory of the Viśrānti Tīrtha and the Account of a Rākṣasa’s Liberation
विश्रान्तितीर्थमाहात्म्यं श्रावयन्स दिने दिने ॥ तस्य श्रवणमात्रेण मम भक्तिर्हृदिस्थिता ॥
viśrāntitīrthamāhātmyaṃ śrāvayan sa dine dine || tasya śravaṇamātreṇa mama bhaktir hṛdisthitā
ಅವನು ದಿನೇ ದಿನೇ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿ-ತೀರ್ಥದ ಮಹಾತ್ಮ್ಯವನ್ನು ಶ್ರವಣಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ಅದನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದ ಮಾತ್ರದಿಂದಲೇ ನನ್ನ ಹೃದಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಕ್ತಿ ಸ್ಥಿರವಾಯಿತು.
Rākṣasa
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":"observer","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":true,"specific_site":"Viśrānti-tīrtha","parikrama_context":"Implied as a celebrated tīrtha whose māhātmya would guide pilgrims’ route and ritual bathing; not explicitly a parikramā instruction in this verse.","krishna_connection":"Foreshadows Mathurā’s Vaiṣṇava sanctity; Viśrānti-tīrtha is later associated with Vāsudeva/Kṛṣṇa’s presence and repose traditions."}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
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":"soteriology of śravaṇa","core_concept":"Śravaṇa (hearing sacred māhātmya) can generate bhakti even in a morally ambiguous being (rākṣasa), showing bhakti’s accessibility and transformative power.","practical_application":"Adopt daily listening/recitation of tīrtha-kathā or Hari-kathā; cultivate steady exposure rather than sporadic inspiration."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Oral Transmission","Pilgrimage Literature"]
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
Type: tīrtha/ghāṭ (sacred ford)
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 167.28-29 (etymology and divine linkage of Viśrānti)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A brāhmaṇa expounder recites daily the glory of Viśrānti-tīrtha; the rākṣasa listens and devotion visibly dawns in his heart.","item_prompts":["teacher reciting from manuscript","listeners seated","river/ghāṭ symbol for tīrtha","subtle heart-lotus motif near rākṣasa","daily-cycle cues (sun progression)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: rhythmic seated assembly, stylized river band, rākṣasa with softened expression, devotional red/green palette, manuscript prominent.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-accented halo around the vācaka, ornate ghāṭ steps, embossed river shimmer, rākṣasa shown with folded hands.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: fine shading on faces, calm interior-temple veranda opening to river, manuscript and hand-mudrā detailed.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: lyrical riverside satsang, delicate trees and ghāṭ steps, expressive eyes showing inner change."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"devotional-contemplative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"slow-medium","voice_tone":"soft, persuasive, with warmth on ‘śravaṇamātreṇa’ and ‘bhaktiḥ’."}
FAQs
It highlights the Purāṇic emphasis on oral/aural circulation of place-traditions, reflecting how tīrtha narratives were preserved and popularized.
Viśrānti-tīrtha is explicitly named; it functions as a sacralized landscape marker within the text’s geography.
The verse teaches that attentive listening to ethical-sacred discourse can initiate inner change, even prior to ritual action.
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