Varaha Purana 5.19: Adhyaya 5, Shloka 19
Reconciliation of Action and Knowledge: Offering All Acts to Nārāyaṇa and the Hymn to the Yajña-Puruṣa
तत्रासीनं महायूथं हरिणानां विचक्षणः । लुब्धो निष्ठुरको नाम धनुःपाणिः कृतान्तवत् । आययौ तं जिघांसुः स धनुष्यायोज्य सायकम् ॥ ५.१९ ॥
tatrāsīnaṃ mahāyūthaṃ hariṇānāṃ vicakṣaṇaḥ | lubdho niṣṭhurako nāma dhanuḥpāṇiḥ kṛtāntavat | āyayau taṃ jighāṃsuḥ sa dhanuṣy āyojya sāyakam || 5.19 ||
Di sana, melihat sekawan besar rusa sedang berehat, seorang pemburu yang tajam penglihatan—bernama Niṣṭhuraka—dengan busur di tangan bagaikan Maut sendiri, datang dengan niat membunuh mereka, lalu memasang anak panah pada busurnya.
Varāha (default narrative frame; speaker not explicit in this verse-fragment)
FAQs
It preserves a common Purāṇic narrative motif—an encounter between vulnerable wildlife and a human aggressor—used to set up subsequent moral, karmic, or didactic developments in the storyline.
No specific toponym is given in this verse; it situates the scene generically (“tatra,” ‘there’), likely within a forest setting implied by the presence of a deer herd.
The verse foregrounds intention (jighāṃsuḥ, ‘wishing to kill’) and the portrayal of cruelty (niṣṭhura-) as ethically charged narrative signals, preparing a reflective stance on violence toward living beings.
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