Varaha Purana 98.21 — Adhyaya 98, Shloka 21
Chapter on the Sacred Hill Episode: Satyatapā and the Marvel of Varāha
नो चेत्कुटुम्बः क्षुधया सीदत्यस्य न संशयः ॥ जायापुत्रसमायुक्तो लुब्धकोऽयं क्षुधान्वितः ॥
no cet kuṭumbaḥ kṣudhayā sīdaty asya na saṁśayaḥ || jāyāputrasamāyukto lubdhako 'yaṁ kṣudhānvitaḥ ||
ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಅವನ ಕುಟುಂಬವು ಹಸಿವಿನಿಂದ ನಿಶ್ಚಯವಾಗಿ ಕಂಗೆಡುತ್ತದೆ—ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಶಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಬೇಟೆಗಾರನು ಪತ್ನಿ-ಪುತ್ರರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಇದ್ದು ಹಸಿವಿನಿಂದ ಪೀಡಿತನಾಗಿದ್ದಾನೆ.
Varāha (default narrator/instructor framework; explicit speaker not marked in fragment)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"burdened","key_question":"How should one balance protecting life with the urgent duty to prevent a hungry family from collapsing?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"varnashrama","instruction_summary":"In āpaddharma (distress), the immediate prevention of starvation for one’s household becomes a compelling duty, requiring compassionate, least-harm solutions.","karmic_consequence":"Ignoring the hungry household leads to adharma through neglect; choosing harmful means out of greed leads to pāpa—dharma lies in compassionate resolution and restraint."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"compassionate-dharma","core_concept":"Dharma is not abstract; it must account for suffering, hunger, and responsibility—compassion is the interpretive key.","practical_application":"Support vulnerable households (dāna/community aid); when advising, consider both non-violence and survival, seeking alternatives that minimize harm."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Social duty","Poverty and livelihood"]
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: social-ethical landscape (gr̥hastha need intersecting āśrama counsel)
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 98.21-22 (setup of the dilemma)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A compassionate assessment of the hunter’s plight: the image shifts from the boar to the hungry household—wife and sons—highlighting the human cost behind the request.","item_prompts":["hunter with worried face","faint vignette of wife and children hungry","simple hut or poor dwelling implied","sage/Varāha as compassionate presence (off-scene voice)","contrast between abundance (boar) and scarcity (family)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: narrative split-panel—hunter foreground, family vignette behind; strong emotional eyes; warm earth tones for poverty, divine hues for compassionate counsel.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central compassionate figure (sage/Varāha implied) with gold aura; family vignette at base; rich ornamentation contrasted with humble family attire.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: tender realism in faces; soft lighting; family shown with restraint and dignity; emphasis on compassion.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: intimate domestic vignette with lyrical simplicity; hunter and family in a hillside forest setting; gentle, empathetic palette."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"compassionate gravity","suggested_raga":"Kāpi","pace":"slow-medium","voice_tone":"warm, empathetic, slightly weighty on ‘kṣudhayā sīdati’"}
FAQs
It reflects a recurrent Purāṇic narrative concern with household vulnerability and the ethics of livelihood, framing moral choices within material scarcity.
No explicit place-name appears in this verse fragment; it is primarily social-ethical rather than geographic.
The verse foregrounds responsibility toward dependents and the moral pressure created by hunger, setting up later choices and their consequences.
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