Varaha Purana 162.33: Adhyaya 162, Shloka 33
The Efficacy and Merit of Cakra-tīrtha
प्रायश्चितं विधीयीत न दद्याच्छोदकक्रियाम् ॥ अहो दैवं सुबलवत्पौरुषं तु निरर्थकम् ॥
prāyaścitaṁ vidhīyīta na dadyāc chodakakriyām || aho daivaṁ subalavat pauruṣaṁ tu nirarthakam ||
प्रायश्चित्त ठरवावे, पण उदकक्रिया (जलसंस्कार) देऊ नये. अहो! दैव अतिशय बलवान आहे आणि पुरुषार्थ जणू निरर्थक भासतो.
Varāha (default dialogue framework)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"curious; seeking dharmic clarity amid moral tension","key_question":"When grave impurity/pāpa is present, what remedial action is valid—what expiation is to be done and what rites must be withheld?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"prayaschitta","instruction_summary":"Prescribe appropriate prāyaścitta, but do not perform/authorize udaka-kriyā (water-rites) in this case.","karmic_consequence":"Proper expiation mitigates pāpa; performing prohibited water-rites risks ritual invalidity and further demerit due to adharmic procedure."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-daiva-viveka","core_concept":"Human agency operates within the overpowering momentum of daiva/karma; dharma still requires correct remedial action rather than futile or misplaced rites.","practical_application":"When confronted with sin/impurity, follow śāstric prāyaścitta precisely; avoid unauthorized rites even if emotionally compelled."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Ritual Practice","Prāyaścitta"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 162.37-41 (narrative exemplum explaining culpability/contagion and proper response)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha as dharma-instructor delivering a stern ruling: expiation is to be done, but water-rites are withheld; the mood is grave, reflecting the weight of fate over human striving.","item_prompts":["Varāha seated as teacher","Bhu Devī listening attentively","palm-leaf manuscript or dharma-scroll","water vessel (kalaśa) set aside/covered to indicate prohibition","somber assembly of listeners"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: Varāha in regal teaching posture, earthy palette, Bhu Devī with folded hands; a kalaśa placed aside to signify ‘no udaka-kriyā’; calm yet grave expressions.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style: gold-leaf haloed Varāha as guru, ornate throne, Bhu Devī in rich jewelry; a prominent but untouched water-pot near the dais; inscriptions suggesting prāyaścitta.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style: refined linework, subdued dignity; Varāha gesturing ‘niṣedha’ (prohibition) with one hand, manuscript in the other; Bhu Devī contemplative.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari style: intimate courtly teaching scene, soft hills as abstract backdrop; emphasis on facial emotion—karuṇa/śānta; water vessel kept at a distance."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave, admonitory, contemplative","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"firm, didactic, slightly lamenting on ‘aho daivam’"}
FAQs
It reflects a normative distinction between prescribing penance and withholding certain funerary-style rites, indicating ritual categorization within Purāṇic ethics.
No geographic location is named in this verse.
The passage emphasizes penance as a response to wrongdoing and expresses a moral-psychological reflection on fate (daiva) versus human agency (pauruṣa).
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
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 word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.