Varaha Purana 201.47 — Adhyaya 201, Shloka 47
The Battle between the Rākṣasas and Yama’s Attendant-Messengers
शासेमहि यथाकामं यथादृष्टं यथाश्रुतम् ॥ त्वया ग्राह्यो ह्यहं देव मृत्युना च सुसंवृतः ॥
śāsemahi yathākāmaṃ yathādṛṣṭaṃ yathāśrutam || tvayā grāhyo hyahaṃ deva mṛtyunā ca susaṃvṛtaḥ ||
നാം ഇഷ്ടാനുസാരം—കണ്ടതും കേട്ടതും അനുസരിച്ച്—ഭരണം/വിധി നടത്താം. എന്നാൽ ഹേ ദേവാ! ഞാൻ നിനക്കാൽ ഗ്രഹിക്കപ്പെടേണ്ടവൻ; മരണത്താലും ദൃഢമായി പൊതിഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നു.
Varāha (default speaker framework; explicit speaker not stated in excerpt)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"dialogue","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"How can governance proceed ‘as desired’ yet remain bound to pramāṇa (seen/heard), and why is even a divine agent still subject to being seized and enclosed by Death?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"rajaniti","instruction_summary":"Judgment/rule should follow pratyakṣa (what is seen) and śruti/smṛti (what is heard), not mere whim; mortality/death remains an enforcing boundary.","karmic_consequence":"Rule aligned with evidence and authoritative teaching yields stability and merit; arbitrary rule invites adharma and punitive consequence (symbolized by ‘Death’)."}
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":"epistemology and moral constraint","core_concept":"Even power must submit to pramāṇa and to the cosmic law of death/time; desire is subordinated to dharma-knowledge.","practical_application":"Decide and act using verifiable facts and trusted instruction; remember finitude to curb arrogance and injustice."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Cosmology"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: bhayānaka
Type: cosmic
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa: dharma/niyati and time-death motifs (general thematic parallel)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A solemn declaration of governance by evidence and tradition, overshadowed by the looming presence of Death as an inescapable boundary.","item_prompts":["two figures in counsel (divine governance)","scroll/śāstra symbol for ‘heard’","witness/eye motif for ‘seen’","shadowy Yama/kāla presence in background"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: didactic court-like scene, Varāha speaking with authoritative gesture, symbolic eye and palm-leaf manuscript, subdued dark band suggesting Kāla/Mṛtyu.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central speaking deity with gold accents, flanking icons of śāstra and witness, a small dark Yama emblem at the edge to signify restraint.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: elegant dialogue tableau, fine linework for manuscript and witness motifs, restrained palette with a dignified, contemplative mood.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: intimate counsel scene under twilight hues, symbolic manuscript and ‘eye’ motif, distant silhouette suggesting Death/time."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave and instructive","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"slow-medium","voice_tone":"measured, contemplative, weighty"}
FAQs
It juxtaposes human/agentive governance (“as desired”) with the inevitability of mortality, a recurring Purāṇic theme connecting ethics to finitude.
No location is identified in this verse.
It implies that authority and choice operate within limits set by mortality and overarching order; actions remain accountable despite power.
Ask anything about this verse
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