Varaha Purana 187.82 — Adhyaya 187, Shloka 82
Determination of the Origin and Procedure of the Ancestral Offering
Pitṛyajña/Śrāddha
क्रूरो भीरुर्विषादी च हिंसको निरपत्रपः ॥ अज्ञानान्धश्च पैशाचमेतॆषां तामसा गुणाः ॥
krūro bhīrur viṣādī ca hiṃsako nirapatrapaḥ | ajñānāndhaś ca paiśācam eteṣāṃ tāmasā guṇāḥ ||
ക്രൂരൻ, ഭീരു, വിഷാദഗ്രസ്തൻ, ഹിംസകൻ, നിർലജ്ജൻ, അജ്ഞാനത്തിൽ അന്ധനായവൻ, പൈശാചിക പ്രവൃത്തിയുള്ളവൻ—ഇവയാണ് തമോഗുണാധീനരുടെ ഗുണങ്ങൾ.
Varāha (default, instructor voice)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"earth_rescue","earth_interaction":"Didactic instruction to Bhū-devī/earth-listener on guṇa-based moral psychology; no physical contact described"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"curious; seeking ethical clarity about human dispositions"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"guṇa-viveka (ethical psychology)","core_concept":"Tāmasika dominance expresses as cruelty, fear, despair, violence, shamelessness, and ignorance-blindness; ‘paiśāca’ tendency marks dehumanized conduct.","practical_application":"Use these markers for self-audit and for choosing company (saṅga); reduce tamas via cleanliness, regulated sleep/food, and sattva-building disciplines."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Psychology of the Guṇas"]
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 187.92-95 (continuation: identification of tāmasa/rājasa/sāttvika and counsel against śoka)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha as a calm divine teacher enumerates the dark traits of tamas; the atmosphere is heavy, with shadowed figures embodying cruelty, fear, and ignorance.","item_prompts":["Varāha seated/standing in teaching posture (vyākhyāna-mudrā)","dark, smoky background suggesting tamas","figures with downcast eyes (viṣāda)","a violent silhouette (hiṃsā)","a shameless figure with averted modesty (nirapatrapa)","blindfold/veil motif for ajñāna-andha"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural palette; Varāha with ornate crown and halo, teaching gesture; deep indigo/black washes behind; symbolic vignettes of tamasic traits in side panels.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style with gold-leaf halo and jewelry; Varāha central, seated on a stylized throne; tamas shown as dark miniature panels around the border.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting: delicate linework, subdued shading; Varāha instructing with palm-leaf manuscript nearby; tamasic figures rendered softly but ominously.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature: Varāha in a quiet forest-āśrama setting; tamas depicted as dark clouds and small narrative figures at the margins."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave, admonitory","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"firm, diagnostic, compassionate-understated"}
FAQs
Such lists function as didactic catalogs used in Purāṇic and Smṛti-style moral instruction, providing recognizable markers for self-assessment and social ethics.
No location is specified; the verse is a characterological enumeration.
The text discourages cruelty, violence, and shamelessness by classifying them as tamas-dominant traits that impair ethical discernment.
Ask anything about this verse
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.