Varaha Purana 170.48 — Adhyaya 170, Shloka 48
The Birth of Gokarṇa and the Fruits of Śiva Worship
including the Śukodara Parrot Episode and Hospitality Ethics
अतिथिर्यस्य भग्नाशो गृहात्प्रव्रजते यदि ॥ आत्मनो दुष्कृतं तस्मै दत्त्वा तत्सुकृतं हरेत् ॥
atithir yasya bhagnāśo gṛhāt pravrajate yadi || ātmano duṣkṛtaṁ tasmai dattvā tat sukṛtaṁ haret
“Jika seorang tetamu meninggalkan rumah seseorang dengan harapan yang hancur, maka tuan rumah itu, setelah memindahkan dosa dan keburukan dirinya kepada tetamu tersebut, merampas pahala dan kebajikan tetamu itu.”
Śuka (the parrot, concluding the ethical warning)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"prayaschitta","instruction_summary":"Do not let a guest leave with broken hope; such neglect causes a karmic exchange—host’s demerit passes to the guest and the guest’s merit is taken by the host.","karmic_consequence":"Host accrues the guest’s sukṛta while offloading his own duṣkṛta onto the departing guest—an ethically perverse but warned-of karmic mechanism."}
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":"karma-theory","core_concept":"Karma is relational: intention and treatment of others can re-route merit/demerit through social contact.","practical_application":"Before a guest departs, ensure their ‘āśā’ (hope/need) is met—food, rest, respectful words, and practical help."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: bhayānaka
Secondary Rasa: bībhatsa
Type: None
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 170.49-52 (hospitality duties and pitṛ consequences); Varāha Purāṇa 170.54 (atithi as Viṣṇu)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A guest leaves a house disappointed; an unseen karmic exchange is symbolized—dark smoke (duṣkṛta) moving to the guest, bright aura (sukṛta) drawn toward the negligent host.","item_prompts":["guest turning away at doorway","downcast posture","host inside with indifferent face","symbolic transfer: dark/bright streams","threshold line emphasized"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: dramatic symbolic currents of black and gold between figures; strong gesture language; ethical allegory foregrounded.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: bright sukṛta aura in gold leaf around host (ironically), dark enamel-like cloud around guest; ornate doorway framing the moral act.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: subtle, psychological rendering—guest’s broken hope on face; faint symbolic wisps indicating transfer.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: lyrical departure scene with stylized aura ribbons; emphasis on narrative clarity and moral poignancy."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"cautionary","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"serious, slightly sharp on ‘bhagnāśaḥ’"}
FAQs
It articulates a well-known South Asian ethical trope: merit and demerit can be affected by social acts like hospitality, reflecting normative social expectations in Sanskrit textual culture.
No location is specified; the verse focuses on moral causality.
Do not let a guest leave disappointed; refusal of hospitality is framed as morally harmful to the host and beneficial to the guest.
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