Varaha Purana 170.46 — Adhyaya 170, Shloka 46
The Birth of Gokarṇa and the Fruits of Śiva Worship
including the Śukodara Parrot Episode and Hospitality Ethics
आगत्य पितरौ मह्यं विशेषं तौ करिष्यतः ॥ अतिथेरागतस्येह पूजाया विमुखो भवेत् ॥
āgatya pitarau mahyaṁ viśeṣaṁ tau kariṣyataḥ || atither āgatasyeha pūjāyā vimukho bhavet
“இங்கே வந்த அதிதியை நான் ஏற்று பூஜித்தால், என் இரு பித்ருக்கள் வந்து எனக்கு விசேஷப் பயன் அளிப்பர்; ஆனால் வந்த அதிதியின் பூஜையிலிருந்து விலகுபவன் குற்றத்திற்குரியவன்.”
Śuka (the parrot, continuing the instruction)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"shraddha","instruction_summary":"Honoring an arrived guest supports the pitṛs; turning away from atithi-pūjā is a culpable fault (doṣa).","karmic_consequence":"Proper reception yields ‘viśeṣa’ benefit mediated through ancestors; refusal incurs blame/sin (expanded as naraka in next verse)."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-pitṛ-sambandha","core_concept":"Atithi-sevā is karmically linked to pitṛ-loka welfare; social ethics and unseen worlds interpenetrate.","practical_application":"Treat guest-honor as part of daily śrāddha-like responsibility: do not postpone, do not refuse."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: bhayānaka
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 170.52-53 (naraka and merit-transfer logic)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Śuka teaches that honoring the guest brings ancestral favor; refusal is shown as a moral lapse with shadowed consequence.","item_prompts":["parrot as teacher","subtle depiction of pitṛs (ancestral figures) in background aura","guest at doorway","host hesitating vs welcoming gesture","contrast of light (honor) and shade (refusal)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: symbolic pitṛs in faint haloed register above, Śuka instructing with composed hand/wing gesture, ethical contrast through color fields.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold halo motifs for pitṛs, rich doorway arch, didactic central grouping with luminous ‘benefit’ side.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: restrained, elegant figures; pitṛ presence suggested via soft glow; emphasis on facial expression of moral choice.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative split-panel feel—welcome scene vs turning-away scene; pitṛs as pale celestial witnesses."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"admonitory","suggested_raga":"Dhanyāsi","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"firm, instructive, slightly grave"}
FAQs
It connects hospitality with ancestral welfare, a recurring ethical rationale in Dharmaśāstra-adjacent passages, illustrating social values around guests and lineage.
No geographic identifier appears in this verse; it is ethical and ritual in focus.
Do not refuse to honor an arrived guest; hospitality is framed as ethically consequential and linked to ancestral benefit.
Ask anything about this verse
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