Varaha Purana 174.12 — Adhyaya 174, Shloka 12
The Sanctifying Power of River Confluences: Release from the Preta-State and the Rite of Śravaṇa Dvādaśī with Vāmana Worship
एकस्थानात्सदा यूयं प्रस्थिताः कुत्र वा सदा ॥ प्रेता ऊचुः ॥ क्षुत्पिपासातुरा नित्यं बहुदुःखसमन्विताः
ekasthānāt sadā yūyaṃ prasthitāḥ kutra vā sadā || pretā ūcuḥ || kṣutpipāsāturā nityaṃ bahuduḥkhasamanvitāḥ
एकस्थानात् सदा यूयं प्रस्थिताः कुत्र वा सदा? प्रेता ऊचुः—वयं नित्यं क्षुत्पिपासातुराः, बहुदुःखसमन्विताः।
Pretas (explicit: “pretā ūcuḥ”)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"observer","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"Where do you (the pretas) keep departing to again and again, and why is your motion unceasing?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"Preta-existence is characterized by hunger, thirst, and suffering as a karmic aftermath; ethical conduct and proper rites are implied as remedies.","karmic_consequence":"Unwholesome actions and neglected duties culminate in preta-like deprivation; meritorious acts/rites support relief and better post-mortem states."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-phala / gati-vicāra","core_concept":"Suffering states after death arise from prior ethical failure and unresolved obligations; embodiment can persist as deprivation.","practical_application":"Cultivate dharma, compassion, and support śrāddha/ancestral rites; avoid actions that lead to post-mortem hunger and thirst."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: bhayānaka
Type: otherworldly_path/antarābhava-like wandering space
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa: preta-narrative sequence around adhyāya 174 (names and karmic origins)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A group of gaunt pretas, parched and restless, answer a questioning brāhmaṇa on a desolate road at dawn, expressing perpetual hunger and thirst.","item_prompts":["emaciated pretas with sunken eyes","dry cracked earth/road","rising sun on horizon","brāhmaṇa with staff and water-pot (kamaṇḍalu)","gesture of pleading and lament"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: dawn sky in warm gradients; stylized brāhmaṇa in calm stance; pretas rendered as thin, greyish figures with expressive eyes; minimal landscape, strong outlines.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style: central brāhmaṇa with ornate halo; pretas in lower register; gold-leaf sunrise disc; rich reds and ochres; decorative borders emphasizing moral tableau.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style: delicate linework, soft shading; subdued palette; emphasis on facial pathos of pretas; gentle glow of sunrise.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari style: lyrical hillside-like horizon and pale dawn; small figures on a winding path; emotive, narrative composition with clear gestures."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"lamentational and admonitory","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"grave, compassionate, slightly austere"}
FAQs
It preserves a classic Purāṇic depiction of preta-existence marked by deprivation, serving as a narrative device for teaching moral causality.
No specific geography is given; the “one place” and continual departure convey existential wandering rather than mappable terrain.
The verse frames suffering as a condition prompting ethical reflection on actions and their consequences.
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