Varaha Purana 49.35: Adhyaya 49, Shloka 35
The Padmanābha Dvādaśī Observance, with the Eulogy of Lamp-Offering Merit
इति राजा वचः श्रुत्वा अगस्त्यस्य महात्मनः । अल्पोपदेशराजासौ पप्रच्छ मुनिपुङ्गवम् ॥ ४९.३५ ॥
iti rājā vacaḥ śrutvā agastyasya mahātmanaḥ | alpopadeśa-rājāsau papraccha muni-puṅgavam || 49.35 ||
ଏପରି ମହାତ୍ମା ଅଗସ୍ତ୍ୟଙ୍କ ବଚନ ଶୁଣି ସେ ରାଜା—ଅଳ୍ପ ଉପଦେଶ ପାଇ—ମୁନିଶ୍ରେଷ୍ଠଙ୍କୁ ପୁନର୍ବାର ପ୍ରଶ୍ନ କଲା।
Narrator (unspecified); default dialogue frame: Varāha–Pṛthivī
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"observer","bhu_devi_state":"curious","key_question":"Implicit: the king seeks fuller instruction beyond the brief teaching—what is the complete dharma/observance being indicated?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"Epistemology of dharma (how knowledge is transmitted)","core_concept":"Brief instruction awakens deeper inquiry; dharma is clarified through respectful questioning of realized sages.","practical_application":"When guidance is partial, ask precise follow-up questions; approach teachers with humility and attentiveness."}
Subject Matter: ["Dialogue Form","Transmission of Knowledge","Sage-King Discourse","Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: Jijñāsā (knowledge-seeking)
Secondary Rasa: Śānta
Type: Dialogic setting (royal-sage discourse)
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 49.49.37 (question about Dvādaśī observance)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A king, having heard Agastya’s words, leans forward in respectful curiosity, beginning his question to the sage.","item_prompts":["king seated with crown","sage Agastya with kamaṇḍalu and staff","gesture of inquiry (raised hand)","assembly setting","scroll/palm-leaf as symbol of teaching"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: frontal figures, ornate kingly attire; Agastya with distinctive sage features; stylized court backdrop.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central sage with gold aura; king in profile offering respectful query; rich textiles and embossed ornaments.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: intimate court scene; nuanced expressions—king’s curiosity, sage’s calm; warm interior palette.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: light architectural pavilion; delicate linework; conversational posture emphasized with minimal props."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"Conversational, anticipatory","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"narrative, slightly rising intonation to signal the turn into a question"}
FAQs
It illustrates a common Purāṇic pedagogical structure: a royal listener receives a teaching from a sage and then continues the inquiry, reflecting the text’s dialogic method of transmitting dharma, cosmology, and cultural knowledge.
No geographic location is named in this verse; it functions as a narrative hinge introducing further questions after Agastya’s speech.
The verse foregrounds an epistemic ethic: attentive listening (śrutvā) followed by respectful questioning (papraccha) as the appropriate method for clarifying and extending instruction.
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.