Varaha Purana 5.43: Adhyaya 5, Shloka 43
Reconciliation of Action and Knowledge: Offering All Acts to Nārāyaṇa and the Hymn to the Yajña-Puruṣa
कपिलस्य वचः श्रुत्वा स राजाऽश्वशिरा विभुः । ज्येष्ठं पुत्रं समाहूय धन्यं स्थूलशिराह्वयम् । अभिषिच्य निजे राज्ये स राजा प्रययौ वनम् ॥ ५.४३ ॥
kapilasya vacaḥ śrutvā sa rājā’śvaśirā vibhuḥ | jyeṣṭhaṁ putraṁ samāhūya dhanyaṁ sthūlaśirāhvayam | abhiṣicya nije rājye sa rājā prayayau vanam || 5.43 ||
കപിലന്റെ വചനം കേട്ട്, ആ ശക്തിമാൻ രാജാവായ അശ്വശിരസ് തന്റെ ജ്യേഷ്ഠപുത്രൻ ധന്യനെ—‘സ്ഥൂലശിരസ്’ എന്ന പേരിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധനായവനെ—വിളിച്ചു, സ്വന്തം രാജ്യത്തിൽ അഭിഷേകം നടത്തി, രാജാവ് വനത്തിലേക്ക് പുറപ്പെട്ടു.
Varāha (default narrative frame; speaker not explicit in this excerpt)
FAQs
It preserves a common Purāṇic narrative pattern: a king receives authoritative counsel, installs an heir through consecration, and withdraws to the forest—reflecting ideals of orderly succession and life-stage transition in South Asian literary culture.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; it refers generally to 'the forest' (vanam) as a conventional setting for withdrawal and ascetic life.
The verse emphasizes responsible governance through legitimate succession (abhiṣeka of the heir) and disciplined renunciation, presenting abdication as a regulated ethical choice rather than disorderly abandonment.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple 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 word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
