Varaha Purana 99.63 — Adhyaya 99, Shloka 63
The Greatness and Rite of the Sesame-Cow (Tiladhenu) Gift
क्षुधया पीडितो ह्यासीत् तृषया च विशेषतः ॥ अनिनायाप्सरोभागं गत्वा श्वेताख्यपर्वतम्
kṣudhayā pīḍito hyāsīt tṛṣayā ca viśeṣataḥ || anināyāpsarobhāgaṃ gatvā śvetākhyaparvatam
അവൻ വിശപ്പാൽ പീഡിതനായിരുന്നു, പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ദാഹത്താൽ; ‘ശ്വേത’ എന്ന പർവതത്തിലേക്ക് ചെന്നു അപ്സരസ്സുകളുടെ ഭാഗം അവിടെ എത്തിച്ചു.
Narrator (default framework: Varāha → Pṛthivī)
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":"observer","bhu_devi_state":"concerned; witnessing karmic repercussion as narrative example","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"Śveta-parvata (mountain named Śveta)","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"narakas","instruction_summary":"One who withholds food and water suffers hunger and thirst after death; deprivation mirrors deprivation caused/neglected in life.","karmic_consequence":"Experiential torment of hunger/thirst; compelled wandering to seek relief, indicating karmic scarcity despite prior wealth."}
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":"moral causality (experiential karma)","core_concept":"Karma ripens as lived experience: neglect of prāṇa-supporting gifts returns as prāṇa-distress (hunger/thirst).","practical_application":"Treat feeding and watering others as non-negotiable dharma; institutionalize water/food charity (wells, tanks, anna-kṣetra) to prevent future scarcity for self and society."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Sacred Geography"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: bhayānaka
Type: sacred mountain / otherworldly waypoint (narrative geography)
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 99.66–99.67 (cause: withholding anna-jala); Varāha Purāṇa 99.68 (death and entry into paraloka)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A tormented king in the otherworld, gaunt and parched, wanders toward the white Śveta mountain; ethereal Apsarases’ domain is hinted, contrasting his thirst with their abundance.","item_prompts":["gaunt figure with dry lips","desolate path","white mountain peak (Śveta)","mirage-like water imagery","distant celestial figures (Apsarases) or their ‘bhāga’ symbol (garland, vessel)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized white mountain, strong contour lines, the suffering figure in earthy tones, celestial realm hinted with bright ornaments and floral motifs.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: luminous white mountain with gold highlights, the suffering figure rendered smaller, celestial abundance suggested with ornate vessels/garlands in the background.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: emotive realism—parched expression, atmospheric depth toward the mountain, subtle celestial presence.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: expansive landscape with a stark white peak, solitary wanderer, delicate clouds suggesting otherworldliness, narrative contrast between scarcity and celestial plenty."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"lamenting, cautionary","suggested_raga":"Bhairavī (or Pūrvi for pathos)","pace":"slow-medium","voice_tone":"somber, vivid, warning"}
FAQs
It reflects a didactic narrative style typical of Purāṇic literature, using embodied suffering (hunger/thirst) to set up ethical discourse.
Śvetākhyaparvata (“the mountain called Śveta”); its precise modern identification is uncertain without broader chapter context and parallel recensions.
The verse functions as narrative prelude: physical deprivation is presented as a consequence-bearing condition that frames later instruction on generosity and duty.
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