Varaha Purana 208.9 — Adhyaya 208, Shloka 9
Narration of the Exemplum of the Pativratā
Devoted Wife
अतिथिप्रियकाश्चैव नित्ययुक्ता जितेन्द्रियाः ॥ ते त्वहम्मानिनः सर्वे गच्छन्त्युपरि मे द्विज
atithi-priyakāś caiva nitya-yuktā jitendriyāḥ || te tv ahammāninaḥ sarve gacchanty upari me dvija
ಅವರು ಅತಿಥಿಪ್ರಿಯರು, ಸದಾ ನಿಯಮಬದ್ಧರು, ಇಂದ್ರಿಯಜಯಿಗಳು; ಆದರೂ ಅಹಮ್ಮಾನದಿಂದ, ಓ ದ್ವಿಜನೇ, ಅವರು ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ನನ್ನಿಗಿಂತ ಮೇಲಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾರೆ।
Yama
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None (teaching continues: merit and surpassing Yama)."}
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":"Ethical excellences praised: atithi-sevā (love of guests), nitya-yoga (constant discipline), and indriya-jaya (sense-mastery); warning implied against subtle self-conceit (ahaṃmāna).","karmic_consequence":"Hospitality and self-mastery elevate one’s spiritual station; however, egoism is flagged as a latent fault even in the virtuous (suggesting risk of fall or limitation if unchecked)."}
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":"virtue ethics with critique of ego","core_concept":"Even high virtue can be undermined by ahaṃkāra; true elevation requires humility alongside discipline.","practical_application":"Practice hospitality and restraint while actively monitoring self-congratulation; dedicate merit to the divine to dissolve ownership."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Ascetic Virtues","Status and Merit"]
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Type: ethical-social sphere (atithi-dharma)
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 208.8 (ascetic virtues); Varāha Purāṇa 208.11 (divine garlands/fragrance imagery continues the ‘reward’ motif)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Yama gestures upward as he speaks of ascetics surpassing his station; ascetics shown welcoming a guest with water and seat, yet a faint halo of pride hinted in posture.","item_prompts":["Yama pointing upward (symbol of higher loka)","ascetics offering arghya/pādya to a guest","calm disciplined faces","subtle visual cue of ego (slight chin lift/halo)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: narrative panel with atithi-sevā; Yama as commentator at side; stylized upward path to higher loka.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-highlighted ‘higher realm’ above; central hospitality scene with ornate vessels.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: balanced composition—hospitality in foreground, Yama in background; nuanced expressions.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: domestic-hermitage hospitality scene with gentle humor/irony about pride; airy depiction of ‘above’."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic with wonder, lightly admonitory","suggested_raga":"Kalyani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"firm, reflective, slightly astonished"}
FAQs
It juxtaposes praised virtues (guest-friendliness, self-control) with a critique of self-regard (ahammāna), reflecting a nuanced ethical psychology in Purāṇic narrative.
No geographic location is specified.
Even disciplined virtues can be ethically compromised by egoic self-regard; humility is implied as essential to spiritual merit.
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