Varaha Purana 5.24 — Adhyaya 5, Shloka 24
Reconciliation of Action and Knowledge: Offering All Acts to Nārāyaṇa and the Hymn to the Yajña-Puruṣa
इत्याकर्ण्य स विप्रेन्द्रो द्विजः संयमनस्तदा । विस्मयेनाब्रवीद्वाक्यं लुब्धं निष्ठुरकं द्विजः ॥ ५.२४ ॥
ityākarṇya sa viprendro dvijaḥ saṃyamanas tadā | vismayenābravīd vākyaṃ lubdhaṃ niṣṭhurakaṃ dvijaḥ || 5.24 ||
ഇതു കേട്ട് ബ്രാഹ്മണശ്രേഷ്ഠനായ ആ ദ്വിജൻ സംയമനൻ അപ്പോൾ വിസ്മയത്തോടെ, ലാഭലോലവും കഠിനവുമായ വാക്കുകൾ പറഞ്ഞു.
Narrator (speaker not explicit in fragment; default dialogue frame: Varāha–Pṛthivī context)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"None","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":"None","instruction_summary":"Ethical norm implied: speech should not be driven by lobha (greed) or expressed with nिष्ठुरता (harshness), especially after receiving spiritual instruction.","karmic_consequence":"Greedy/harsh speech signals inner impurity and leads to further adharma and relational harm; restrained truthful speech supports sādhutva and spiritual progress."}
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":"Ethics of speech (vāk-śuddhi)","core_concept":"Hearing truth does not guarantee transformation; latent greed can twist one’s response into cruelty, revealing the gap between knowledge and virtue.","practical_application":"After receiving instruction, pause before responding; examine motive (lobha vs dharma), and practice gentle, truthful, beneficial speech."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Narrative","Speech and Conduct"]
Primary Rasa: Bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: Adbhuta
Type: None
Related Themes: Varaha Purana 5.5.23 (ego and avidyā as roots of moral failure); Varaha Purana 5.5.25 (dialogue with hunter; consequences unfold)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A narrative close-up: the brāhmaṇa Saṃyamana, eyes widened in astonishment, then speaking with a hard expression—his posture and gestures betraying greed and harshness.","item_prompts":["brāhmaṇa with sacred thread","astonished face shifting to stern/greedy look","hand gesture indicating sharp speech","listeners reacting uneasily"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: expressive mukha-bhāva transition (vismaya to nिष्ठुरता); bold outlines; minimal props emphasizing emotion.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: portrait-like brāhmaṇa with ornate border; dramatic facial expression; small attendants as witnesses.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: nuanced expression and hand mudrā; subdued palette to convey ethical tension.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: intimate courtly-style conversation scene; delicate depiction of facial emotion and moral contrast."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"Tense, narrative","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"Medium","voice_tone":"Slightly sharp on ‘lुब्धं निष्ठुरकं’ to mark moral dissonance"}
FAQs
It illustrates a common Purāṇic narrative technique: ethical characterization through speech-description (e.g., labeling words as ‘greedy’ and ‘harsh’), which helps frame subsequent moral consequences within the storyline.
No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it focuses on a character’s reaction and manner of speech.
The verse foregrounds the moral evaluation of speech: words motivated by greed and expressed harshly are marked as ethically problematic, setting up a cautionary contrast with disciplined and truthful speech.
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.