Varaha Purana 49.19: Adhyaya 49, Shloka 19
The Padmanābha Dvādaśī Observance, with the Eulogy of Lamp-Offering Merit
Pūrva Bhāga · Narrative Ethics and Social Roles (Karma-vipāka context)
अगस्त्य उवाच । इयं राज्ञी त्वया याऽभूद् दासी वैश्यस्य वैदिशे । नगरे हरिदत्तस्य त्वमस्याः पतिरेव च । तस्यैव कर्मकारोऽभूच्छूद्रः सेवनतत्परः ॥ ४९.१९ ॥
agastya uvāca | iyaṃ rājñī tvayā yā ’bhūd dāsī vaiśyasya vaidiśe | nagare haridattasya tvam asyāḥ patir eva ca | tasyaiva karmakāro ’bhūc chūdraḥ sevanatatparaḥ || 49.19 ||
agastya uvAcha | iyaM rAj~nI tvayA yA.abhUd dAsI vaishyasya vaidishe | nagare haridattasya tvamasyAH patireva cha | tasyaiva karmakAro.abhUchChUdraH sevanatatparaH || 49.19 ||
Agastya rzekł: 'Ta królowa, z twojego powodu, stała się służącą w mieście Vidiśā, należącą do wajśji Haridatty; a ty sam stałeś się jej mężem. Śudra, oddany służbie, stał się jego robotnikiem.'
Sandhi Notes
- याऽभूद् = या + अभूत्
- कर्मकारोऽभूत् = कर्मकारः + अभूत्
- अभूच्छूद्रः = अभूत् + शूद्रः (त् + श् → च्छ्)
Agastya
Implicitly answers the king’s confusion by revealing prior-life identities and social-role reversals driven by karma.
Social identity and relationships are contingent results of prior actions; dharma is not merely status but conduct.
Treat dependents and spouses ethically; avoid exploitation—future outcomes may mirror one’s present actions.
Karmic causality governs social and relational outcomes across births; actions can invert status (queen to servant, etc.).
Unethical acts and misuse of power can lead to degradation and servitude; righteous conduct supports uplift and stability of station.
Varāha Purāṇa 49.49.20-22 (ritual act by the vaiśya that frames the karmic narrative)
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic narrative framing of social roles (queen, servant, vaiśya, śūdra) and labor relationships, useful for studying how later Sanskrit literature describes status, service, and household structures in an ethical-causal (karma) storyline.
Vidiśā (IAST: Vidiśā; adjective: vaidiśa), an ancient city in central India, commonly identified with the historical Vidisha near present-day Besnagar in Madhya Pradesh.
Within a karma-vipāka style narrative, the verse links personal actions to changes in social position and relational outcomes, presenting status and service as consequences within an ethical-causal framework rather than as mere birth descriptors.
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