Varaha Purana 32.10 — Adhyaya 32, Shloka 10
Dharma as the Bull-Form: Soma’s Transgression and the Institution of the Thirteenth Lunar Day Observance
तस्मिन्गते सुराः सर्वे असुराणां तु पत्नयः । जिघृक्षन्तस्तदौकांसि बभ्रमुर्धर्मवञ्चिताः । असुरा अपि तद्वच्च सुरवेश्मनि बभ्रमुः ॥ ३२.११ ॥
tasmin gate surāḥ sarve asurāṇāṁ tu patnayaḥ | jighṛkṣantas tad-aukāṁsi babhramur dharmavañcitāḥ | asurā api tadvac ca sura-veśmani babhramuḥ || 32.11 ||
ദേവന്മാർ പോയശേഷം, ധർമ്മത്തിൽ നിന്ന് വഞ്ചിതരായ അസുരപത്നിമാർ അവരുടെ വാസസ്ഥലങ്ങൾ പിടിച്ചെടുക്കാൻ ആഗ്രഹിച്ചു അലഞ്ഞു; അസുരരും അതുപോലെ ദേവവസതിയിൽ ചുറ്റി നടന്നു।
Varāha (default dialogue framework; speaker not explicit in the excerpt)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"rajaniti","instruction_summary":"When dharma is abandoned (dharmavañcita), social roles collapse and property/abodes are seized; rulers must protect maryādā and rightful residence/ownership to prevent anarchy.","karmic_consequence":"Upholding order prevents conflict and dispossession; abandoning dharma leads to mutual trespass, escalation, and collective ruin."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"social ethics (dharma as boundary)","core_concept":"Dharma is the invisible boundary that secures spaces (āvasatha/veśman); when it is lost, desire to seize (jighṛkṣā) replaces rightful conduct and produces reciprocal invasion.","practical_application":"Maintain ethical boundaries in relationships and institutions; address greed early, since normalized trespass quickly becomes systemic conflict."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Social Order","Conflict Narratives"]
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: celestial palace/settlement
Related Themes: 32.32.12 (maryādā-bhaṅga → dharma-nāśa → war)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"In the vacated divine quarters, asura-wives and asuras roam restlessly, reaching toward celestial dwellings, while the atmosphere feels lawless and tense.","item_prompts":["celestial architecture (pillars, vimāna-like halls)","figures wandering with grasping gestures","disarrayed household items","contrasting deva symbols now unattended"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural with ornate palace backdrop; multiple figures in dynamic wandering poses; expressive hands reaching; muted golds/greens to show moral decay.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore composition with a richly ornamented palace; gold-leaf emphasis on architecture; figures placed in frieze-like movement suggesting roaming and seizure.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style with refined interior details; subtle narrative grouping—some figures whispering, others reaching; emphasis on 'dharmavañcita' through uneasy expressions.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature with architectural cutaway; small figures moving through corridors; cool palette and sharp outlines to convey intrusion."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"uneasy, admonitory","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"firm, with stress on dharmavañcitāḥ and jighṛkṣantaḥ"}
FAQs
It exemplifies a common Purāṇic narrative motif in which social and cosmic order is disrupted through transgressive movement into others’ spaces, reflecting concerns about rightful domain, governance, and normative conduct (dharma) in classical Sanskrit literature.
No specific terrestrial pilgrimage site or identifiable geographic toponym is named in this verse; the setting is described generically as the abodes/residences of gods and Asuras.
The verse frames the act of seizing or intruding upon others’ dwellings as behavior associated with being 'deprived of dharma,' implicitly underscoring restraint, rightful possession, and respect for boundaries as elements of proper conduct.
Ask anything about this verse
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