Varaha Purana 22.23 — Adhyaya 22, Shloka 23
Gaurī’s Rebirth, Umā’s Austerities, Rudra’s Test, and the Himalayan Wedding
मत्पाणिग्रहणं भद्रे वृथा यदि करिष्यसि । तदानीं ब्रह्मणः पुत्र्यामाहारार्थं ब्रवीम्यहम् ॥ २२.२३ ॥
matpāṇigrahaṇaṃ bhadre vṛthā yadi kariṣyasi | tadānīṃ brahmaṇaḥ putryām āhārārthaṃ bravīmy aham || 22.23 ||
“Wahai wanita yang mulia, jika engkau berniat menjadikan pegangan tanganku (dalam ikatan perkahwinan) sia-sia, maka pada saat itu aku akan menyebut puteri Brahmā berkenaan hal memperoleh makanan untuk kelangsungan hidup.”
Varāha (default speaker per dialogue framework; speaker not explicitly marked in excerpt)
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":"hesitant/withholding consent; being cautioned","key_question":"Will you nullify the initiated bond (pāṇigrahaṇa), and if so, what social-ethical consequences follow?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"Do not render a solemn hand-taking/engagement futile; actions around marriage must align with truthfulness and social-dharmic consistency.","karmic_consequence":"Making a solemn act ‘vain’ leads to social censure and disorder; honoring it supports dharma and legitimacy of union."}
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":"ethics of intention (saṅkalpa)","core_concept":"A sacred/social act is validated by congruent intention; duplicity empties ritual/gesture of meaning.","practical_application":"Avoid initiating commitments you intend to revoke; align speech, intention, and action."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Social Custom","Dialogue Literature"]
Primary Rasa: śṛṅgāra
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: None
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 22.22.22 (pāṇigrahaṇa initiated); Varāha Purāṇa 22.22.24-26 (Devī’s clarification and procedural consent)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"The male speaker, holding the woman’s hand, speaks with a firmer tone—warning against making the hand-taking meaningless.","item_prompts":["clasped hands foregrounded","speaker’s slightly stern expression","listener’s modest hesitation","aura/halo motifs","minimal narrative props to keep focus on dialogue tension"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: intensified facial bhāva—speaker’s brows slightly knit; hand-clasp central; warm reds/ochres; restrained background.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: iconic couple with emphasized gesture; gold-leaf highlights on ornaments; speaker’s posture assertive; listener modestly turned.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: nuanced expression, gentle but firm admonition; fine jewelry; soft gradients; focus on hands and faces.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: intimate conversational stance; slight dramatic tension; delicate landscape; expressive eyes showing warning and hesitation."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"firm, admonitory within intimacy","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"controlled, slightly sharp, then settling"}
FAQs
It preserves a conventional Sanskrit idiom—pāṇigrahaṇa (“taking the hand”)—used for marriage, showing how Purāṇic narrative integrates social-legal terminology into dialogue and ethical counsel.
No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it is primarily a relational and rhetorical statement within a dialogue.
The verse frames accountability in commitments: it cautions against rendering a formal pledge (here, marital hand-taking) meaningless, and signals a consequential shift in discourse toward survival/sustenance concerns (āhāra).
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
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 audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.