Varaha Purana 170.48 — Adhyaya 170, Shloka 48
The Birth of Gokarṇa and the Fruits of Śiva Worship
including the Śukodara Parrot Episode and Hospitality Ethics
अतिथिर्यस्य भग्नाशो गृहात्प्रव्रजते यदि ॥ आत्मनो दुष्कृतं तस्मै दत्त्वा तत्सुकृतं हरेत् ॥
atithir yasya bhagnāśo gṛhāt pravrajate yadi || ātmano duṣkṛtaṁ tasmai dattvā tat sukṛtaṁ haret
“ആരുടെയെങ്കിലും വീട്ടിൽ നിന്ന് അതിഥി പ്രതീക്ഷ ഭംഗപ്പെട്ട് പുറപ്പെട്ടാൽ, ആ ഗൃഹസ്ഥൻ തന്റെ ദുഷ്കൃതം അവനു നൽകി അതിഥിയുടെ സുകൃതം അപഹരിക്കുന്നു.”
Śuka (the parrot, concluding the ethical warning)
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"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"prayaschitta","instruction_summary":"Do not let a guest leave with broken hope; such neglect causes a karmic exchange—host’s demerit passes to the guest and the guest’s merit is taken by the host.","karmic_consequence":"Host accrues the guest’s sukṛta while offloading his own duṣkṛta onto the departing guest—an ethically perverse but warned-of karmic mechanism."}
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":"karma-theory","core_concept":"Karma is relational: intention and treatment of others can re-route merit/demerit through social contact.","practical_application":"Before a guest departs, ensure their ‘āśā’ (hope/need) is met—food, rest, respectful words, and practical help."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: bhayānaka
Secondary Rasa: bībhatsa
Type: None
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 170.49-52 (hospitality duties and pitṛ consequences); Varāha Purāṇa 170.54 (atithi as Viṣṇu)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A guest leaves a house disappointed; an unseen karmic exchange is symbolized—dark smoke (duṣkṛta) moving to the guest, bright aura (sukṛta) drawn toward the negligent host.","item_prompts":["guest turning away at doorway","downcast posture","host inside with indifferent face","symbolic transfer: dark/bright streams","threshold line emphasized"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: dramatic symbolic currents of black and gold between figures; strong gesture language; ethical allegory foregrounded.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: bright sukṛta aura in gold leaf around host (ironically), dark enamel-like cloud around guest; ornate doorway framing the moral act.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: subtle, psychological rendering—guest’s broken hope on face; faint symbolic wisps indicating transfer.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: lyrical departure scene with stylized aura ribbons; emphasis on narrative clarity and moral poignancy."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"cautionary","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"serious, slightly sharp on ‘bhagnāśaḥ’"}
FAQs
It articulates a well-known South Asian ethical trope: merit and demerit can be affected by social acts like hospitality, reflecting normative social expectations in Sanskrit textual culture.
No location is specified; the verse focuses on moral causality.
Do not let a guest leave disappointed; refusal of hospitality is framed as morally harmful to the host and beneficial to the guest.
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