Varaha Purana 116.22: Adhyaya 116, Shloka 22
An Exposition on the Causes of Happiness and Suffering
Uttara Bhāga · Dharma–Karma-vipāka (Ethical Consequences and Social Observation)
मामेव न प्रपद्यन्ते ततो दुःखतरं नु किम् ॥ एतत्ते कथितं भद्रे दुःखकर्मविनिश्चयम्
mām eva na prapadyante tato duḥkhataraṃ nu kim || etat te kathitaṃ bhadre duḥkha-karma-viniścayam
mAmeva na prapadyante tato duHkhataraM nu kim || etatte kathitaM bhadre duHkhakarmavinishchayam
मामेव न प्रपद्यन्ते; ततो दुःखतरं नु किम्? एतत्ते कथितं भद्रे—दुःखकर्मविनिश्चयम्।
Sandhi Notes
- mām eva (no sandhi change)
- duḥkha-karma-viniścayam is a multi-member tatpuruṣa
Varāha
Seeking remedy; receptive to a salvific orientation
What is the decisive remedy for duḥkha-producing karma, and why is failure to take refuge in the Lord the worst misfortune?
The gravest suffering is spiritual non-alignment—refusal of exclusive refuge in the Lord.
Cultivate śaraṇāgati: remembrance, prayer, ethical restraint, and offering one’s life-direction to the Lord as the ultimate support.
Direct counsel to Pṛthivī: the greatest pain is non-surrender; he concludes a section on duḥkha-karmas.
Varāha as the cosmic rescuer becomes the inner refuge: the same power that lifts Earth lifts the jīva from karmic mire through surrender.
Implicit: refuge in the Lord as the ‘yajña’s center’—all acts and identities find stability when offered to the divine ground (Varāha/Nārāyaṇa).
Bhakti-vedānta emphasis: īśvara-śaraṇāgati as a means that reorients karma toward mokṣa; duḥkha arises from separation/forgetfulness of the Supreme.
Śaraṇāgati (taking refuge in the Lord) is presented as the crucial corrective; refusal to do so is the most grievous condition.
Taking refuge leads toward release from duḥkha-karmas; non-refuge perpetuates suffering and moral downfall.
Sets up 116.25–26 where ‘pāpa harmful to all beings’ and ‘śubha’ are defined and linked to devotion
FAQs
It marks a summarizing turn typical of Purāṇic instruction, closing a list of observed sufferings with a doctrinal conclusion.
None is identified in this verse.
The passage frames ‘refuge’ (prapatti) as a remedy to suffering-producing conduct, while maintaining a didactic focus on consequences of action.
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