Varaha Purana 99.65: Adhyaya 99, Shloka 65
The Greatness and Rite of the Sesame-Cow (Tiladhenu) Gift
तान्यस्थीनि लिहन्दृष्टो वसिष्ठेन महात्मना ॥ उक्तश्च तेन किंच त्वं स्वास्थि भुङ्क्षे नराधिप
tānyasthīni lihandṛṣṭo vasiṣṭhena mahātmanā || uktaś ca tena kiñ ca tvaṃ svāsthi bhuṅkṣe narādhipa
മഹാത്മാവായ വസിഷ്ഠൻ അവനെ ആ അസ്ഥികൾ നക്കുന്നതു കണ്ടു പറഞ്ഞു—‘ഹേ നരാധിപാ, നീ നിന്റെ സ്വന്തം അസ്ഥികൾ എന്തിന് ഭുജിക്കുന്നു?’
Vasiṣṭha
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","key_question":"Why do you, a king, consume your own bones—what karmic cause has led to this self-devouring hunger?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"dana","instruction_summary":"Failure in anna-dāna (giving food) yields severe hunger and degradation; even royal status cannot avert the fruit of non-giving.","karmic_consequence":"Non-giving ripens as tormenting hunger and self-harm imagery (licking/consuming one’s own bones), a didactic sign of karmic recoil."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ethical causality / compassion ethics","core_concept":"Adharma is self-consuming; harm done by neglect returns as suffering that appears to arise from oneself.","practical_application":"Practice regular food charity (anna-dāna), especially to guests, ascetics, and the needy; cultivate awareness that neglect becomes future deprivation."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Karmic Consequence"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: bībhatsa
Type: didactic encounter setting
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 99.74 (king explains hunger due to non-giving); Varāha Purāṇa 99.76 (principle: what is not given does not accrue)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Vasiṣṭha, serene yet stern, witnesses King Śveta in a pitiable state licking bones; the sage questions him, exposing the moral cause.","item_prompts":["Vasiṣṭha with kamaṇḍalu and staff","emaciated king figure","scattered bones (asthi)","gesture of admonition (raised hand)","forest-ashram backdrop"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: high-contrast compassionate severity—Vasiṣṭha calm, king gaunt; stylized bones minimal but clear; earthy palette.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: sage with gold halo and ornate borders; king rendered smaller and subdued; symbolic bones simplified; moral drama emphasized.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined facial expressions—sage’s questioning gaze, king’s shame; detailed textiles for sage, muted tones for king.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: intimate narrative vignette in a forest clearing; delicate lines, expressive posture of hunger and admonition."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave, admonitory","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"firm, compassionate, with emphasis on the interrogative ‘kim…?’"}
FAQs
It illustrates the Purāṇic technique of vivid imagery to communicate moral causality and provoke ethical reflection.
No location is specified in this verse; the focus is on the encounter between the king and Vasiṣṭha.
Actions—especially failures of duty—can yield self-harming consequences, represented here through a stark bodily image.
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