Varaha Purana 126.67 — Adhyaya 126, Shloka 67
The Greatness of Kubjāmraka: Raibhya’s Boon and the Teaching on the Sacred Tīrthas
गरुडो हन्ति नागान्वै दृष्ट्वैव विनतात्मजः ॥ एवं स वार्यमाणोऽपि व्यालीं हन्ति स्म दारुणम् ॥
garuḍo hanti nāgān vai dṛṣṭvaiva vinatātmajaḥ || evaṃ sa vāryamāṇo 'pi vyālīṃ hanti sma dāruṇam ||
ກະຣຸດ ບຸດຂອງ ວິນະຕາ ເຫັນນາກແຕ່ພຽງຢ່າງດຽວກໍປາບໄດ້. ດັ່ງນັ້ນ ແມ່ນຖືກຫ້າມກໍຍັງສັງຫານນາກິນີອັນນ່າຢ້ານກົວໄດ້.
Varāha (default dialogue framework)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None (Varāha uses a mythic analogy—Garuḍa’s instinctive slaying—to justify/illustrate the prince’s act)."}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"Listening, evaluating the ethical justification","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"Vaiṣṇava mythic network via Garuḍa (Viṣṇu’s vāhana), but no Kṛṣṇa-specific link."}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"Illustrative ethic: some beings act according to svabhāva/dharma (Garuḍa vs nāgas); analogy is used to frame the inevitability/rightness (or at least the persistence) of slaying a dangerous vyālī despite restraint.","karmic_consequence":"If aligned with one’s ordained protective duty and necessity, force may be framed as dharmic; if merely imitative or driven by cruelty, it accrues demerit (nuance implied beyond the analogy)."}
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":"Svadharma and natural disposition (svabhāva)","core_concept":"Certain actions are portrayed as intrinsic to a being’s role in cosmic order; analogies can clarify but also risk oversimplifying moral agency.","practical_application":"Use scriptural analogies to examine motives: ask whether an act is truly necessary and role-consistent, or a rationalization for violence."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Narrative","Sacred Geography"]
Primary Rasa: Raudra
Secondary Rasa: Vira
Type: Narrative-ethical exemplum
Related Themes: Continuation of the prince–vyālī episode; explanatory justification within the tīrtha-kathā
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Split or sequential depiction: Garuḍa swoops, effortlessly striking serpents; parallel scene shows the restrained killer still striking the fearsome vyālī—an analogy rendered visually as mirrored action.","item_prompts":["Garuḍa with wings spread","serpents recoiling/being seized","parallel human scene with weapon raised","sense of inevitability (diagonal motion)","mythic aura around Garuḍa"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: powerful Garuḍa in dynamic flight with stylized serpents; mirrored lower panel with prince and vyālī; bold lines and saturated colors.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central Garuḍa with gold-leaf highlights on wings and ornaments; serpents as decorative coils; secondary vignette of vyālī-slaying framed in an ornate border.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: elegant Garuḍa with detailed feathering; controlled drama; clear narrative sequencing; emphasis on facial resolve and mythic authority.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: lyrical two-scene composition; Garuḍa against sky, serpents below; human scene in forest; light palette with strong narrative clarity."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"Assertive, explanatory (analogy-driven)","suggested_raga":"Shankarabharanam","pace":"Madhya (didactic clarity)","voice_tone":"Confident, slightly emphatic on ‘dṛṣṭvaiva’ and ‘dāruṇam’"}
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic narrative motif: Garuḍa’s archetypal enmity with nāgas, used as a literary device within tīrtha-linked storytelling.
No explicit place-name appears in this verse; it functions as narrative setup within the chapter’s broader tīrtha discourse.
The verse foregrounds the problem of restraint—how powerful agents may act even when advised otherwise—inviting reflection on self-control and consequences.
Ask anything about this verse
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