Varaha Purana 165.64: Adhyaya 165, Shloka 64
The Glory of Mathurā: The Account of Piṇḍa-Offering at the Catuḥsāmudrika Well
कुटुम्बभरणार्थाय सम्प्राप्तो दुर्गमाटवीम् ॥ वृद्धः पिता मम गृहे माता पत्नी पतिव्रता
kuṭumbabharaṇārthāya samprāpto durgamāṭavīm || vṛddhaḥ pitā mama gṛhe mātā patnī pativratā
കുടുംബഭരണത്തിനായി ഞാൻ ദുർഗമമായ കാട്ടിൽ എത്തി; എന്റെ വീട്ടിൽ വൃദ്ധനായ പിതാവും മാതാവും പതിവ്രതയായ ഭാര്യയും ഉണ്ട്।
Preta (inferred from continuation: 'pretavākyaṃ...')
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"observer","key_question":"What compels a person into perilous action, and how do family obligations shape karmic outcomes?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"varnashrama","instruction_summary":"Gṛhastha-dharma emphasizes supporting dependents (parents, spouse), yet livelihood pursued without dharmic safeguards can lead to peril and post-mortem distress.","karmic_consequence":"Right livelihood sustains family and merit; desperate/adharmic means or neglect of duties can culminate in suffering and preta narratives."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ethics of intention and duty","core_concept":"Even well-intended actions (family support) require dharmic means and foresight; intention alone does not cancel karmic vulnerability.","practical_application":"Pursue artha through dharmya upāya, balance care for parents/spouse with non-harm, and maintain ritual/ethical disciplines that protect one’s gati."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Social Order"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Type: forest/wilderness
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 165.165 (preta’s self-report leading to request for merit transfer)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"The preta recounts his motive: entering a forbidding forest to provide for his household—aged father, mother, and devoted wife awaiting at home.","item_prompts":["preta speaking with pleading gesture","dark dense forest path","faint vision/insert of a humble home","elderly parents seated","pativratā wife waiting"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: split-scene composition—forest foreground with speaker, home vignette behind; expressive eyes and restrained sorrow.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: narrative panels with embossed household figures; forest rendered with stylized foliage; emphasis on familial icons.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: detailed domestic interior contrasted with rugged forest exterior; naturalistic faces conveying duty and regret.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: lyrical home-and-forest juxtaposition, delicate figures, emotive storytelling focus."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"plaintive, narrative","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"supplicating, weary"}
FAQs
It reflects social ideals embedded in Purāṇic storytelling—family maintenance, elder care, and household duties—often used to frame moral narratives.
No named site; the setting is a 'durgamāṭavī'—a difficult forest terrain.
It highlights obligations toward family members (parents and spouse) as a central ethical concern within the narrative frame.
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