Varaha Purana 8.36: Adhyaya 8, Shloka 36
Dialogue on the Ethical Limits of Subsistence and the Five Great Sacrifices
Dharmavyādha, Mātaṅga, and Prasanna
स्वगृहे नैव भुञ्जामि पितॄणां कार्यमित्युत । अहं व्याधो जीवघाती न तु त्वं लोकहिंसकः ॥ ८.३६ ॥
svagṛhe naiva bhuñjāmi pitṝṇāṁ kāryam ity uta | ahaṁ vyādho jīvaghātī na tu tvaṁ lokahiṁsakaḥ || 8.36 ||
‘പിതൃകർമ്മം ചെയ്യേണ്ടതുണ്ട്’ എന്നു പറഞ്ഞ് ഞാൻ എന്റെ വീട്ടിൽ ഭക്ഷണം കഴിക്കാറില്ല. പിന്നെയും—‘ഞാൻ വ്യാധൻ, ജീവഘാതകൻ; എന്നാൽ നീ ലോകഹിംസകൻ അല്ല’ എന്നു പറഞ്ഞു.
Varāha (default speaker per dialogue framework; not explicit in fragment)
FAQs
It reflects Purāṇic-era ethical discourse where ritual obligations (e.g., duties toward ancestors) and moral responsibility are articulated through dialogue and self-characterization.
No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it is focused on domestic conduct and ethical distinction rather than sacred geography.
The verse contrasts forms of harm: taking animal life (jīvaghātī) versus harming people/society (lokahiṁsaka), implying a moral hierarchy and the importance of social non-injury alongside ritual duty.
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