Varaha Purana 51.7 — Adhyaya 51, Shloka 7

Recollection of the Dharaṇī-vrata and the Agastya–Bhadrāśva Dialogue on Liberation

Devanagari script

भद्राश्व उवाच । भगवन् कर्मणा केन छिद्यते भवसंसृतिः । किं वा कृत्वा न शोचन्ति मूर्तामूर्तोपपत्तिषु ॥ ५१.७ ॥

Transliteration

bhadrāśva uvāca | bhagavan karmaṇā kena chidyate bhavasaṃsṛtiḥ | kiṃ vā kṛtvā na śocanti mūrtāmūrtopapattiṣu || 51.7 ||

Translation

Bhadrāśva berkata: “Wahai Yang Terpuji, dengan perbuatan apakah kitaran samsara dapat diputuskan? Atau, setelah melakukan apa, makhluk tidak lagi berdukacita di tengah kelahiran yang berwujud dan tidak berwujud?”

Word by Word

• bhadrāśvaḥ: Bhadrāśva (proper name)

• uvāca: said

• bhagavan: O Blessed One / venerable one

• karmaṇā: by action, by deed (instrumental)

• kena: by which?

• chidyate: is cut off, is severed

• bhava-saṃsṛtiḥ: the cycle of worldly existence/transmigration

• kim vā: or what?

• kṛtvā: having done

• na: not

• śocanti: (they) grieve, mourn

• mūrta: manifest, embodied

• amūrta: unmanifest, non-embodied

• upapattiṣu: in births/embodiments/occurrences (locative plural)

Speaker

Bhadrāśva

Varaha Avatara Context

Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}

Bhu Devi Dialogue

Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"questioner","key_question":"By what action is saṃsāra cut off, and what should one do so as not to grieve amid manifest and unmanifest embodiments?"}

Mathura Mandala

Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}

Dharma Shastra

Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"instruction_summary":"Frames the central dharma inquiry: identify karma (and/or knowledge-oriented practice) that ends saṃsāra and removes śoka (grief).","karmic_consequence":"Right practice leads to cessation of transmigration and freedom from grief; wrong action/ignorance perpetuates rebirth and sorrow."}

Vrata Mahatmya

Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}

Cosmic Boar Symbolism

Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"The ‘manifest/unmanifest’ polarity (mūrta/amūrta) anticipates a Vedāntic discrimination that ultimately points beyond both to the liberating principle (ātman/brahman) often taught through Viṣṇu-centered mokṣa-dharma.","vedantic_connection":"Sāṅkhya–Vedānta style viveka: distinguishing dṛśya (object/field) from adṛśya (subtle/unmanifest) as a step toward freedom from śoka and saṃsāra."}

Philosophical Teaching

Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"soteriology / karma-jnana inquiry","core_concept":"Which transformative ‘karma’ (broadly: disciplined practice) ends saṃsāra and uproots grief across gross and subtle states.","practical_application":"Adopt a path that targets both conduct and insight: seek teachings on viveka, detachment, and devotion/knowledge that dissolve śoka."}

Subject Matter

Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Philosophy of action (karma)","Liberation discourse (mokṣa-oriented inquiry)"]

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: jijnasa

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: royal-sage dialogue setting

Cross References

Related Themes: 51.51.6 (question is named mokṣa-dharma); 51.51.8 (Agastya begins a teaching framed by seen/unseen distinction)

Visual Art Cues

Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"King Bhadrāśva, hands folded, asks Agastya the piercing question of how to cut off saṃsāra and become free from grief in both gross and subtle embodiments.","item_prompts":["king in añjali","sage seated calmly","visual contrast motifs: light/dark veil to suggest mūrta/amūrta","scroll or symbolic wheel to suggest saṃsāra"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: close-up expressive faces; king’s earnest gaze; sage serene; background with subtle dual-tone band (seen/unseen).","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: king and sage with gold halos; include a stylized saṃsāra-wheel motif in border; rich ornaments, but king’s posture humble.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: restrained elegance; emphasize the king’s questioning gesture; soft gradations to hint at manifest/unmanifest.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: intimate dialogue under pavilion; symbolic mist behind to indicate amūrta; crisp linework and gentle colors."}

Audio Atmosphere

Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"probing, contemplative","suggested_raga":"Tōḍī","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"earnest, searching, slightly intense on key words (bhava-saṃsṛti, śocanti)"}

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Dialogue
• Sanskrit Philology
• Vaishnavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies the Purāṇic dialogue format where a named interlocutor frames liberation-oriented questions (karma, saṃsāra, grief), reflecting broader South Asian intellectual concerns shared across Purāṇas and Dharma/Ātma-vidyā literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; the content is doctrinal and philosophical rather than topographic.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse poses an ethical-philosophical inquiry: it seeks the kind of action (karma) that ends transmigration and mitigates grief across states of embodiment, setting up a teaching on disciplined conduct and liberative practice.