Varaha Purana 167.23 — Adhyaya 167, Shloka 23
The Glory of the Viśrānti Tīrtha and the Account of a Rākṣasa’s Liberation
कथं च संज्ञा तस्याभूत्कथय त्वं हि राक्षस ॥ राक्षस उवाच ॥ पुरी उज्जयिनी नाम्ना तस्यां वासो हि मे सदा ॥
kathaṃ ca saṃjñā tasyābhūt kathaya tvaṃ hi rākṣasa || rākṣasa uvāca || purī ujjayinī nāmnā tasyāṃ vāso hi me sadā
“అది ఆ నామాన్ని ఎలా పొందింది? ఓ రాక్షసా, నీవే చెప్పు.” రాక్షసుడు అన్నాడు—“ఉజ్జయినీ అనే నగరం ఉంది; అక్కడే నా నివాసం ఎల్లప్పుడూ ఉండేది.”
Rākṣasa
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":"How did it receive that name (toponymic origin)?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
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":"itihasa-purana hermeneutics","core_concept":"Place-names in Purāṇic narrative are validated through remembered habitation and testimony (śruti of kathā).","practical_application":"Treat tīrtha/kshetra accounts as layered: etymology + witness narrative + later doctrinal linkage."}
Subject Matter: ["Sacred Geography","Urban History (Ujjayinī)","Etymology/Toponymy"]
Primary Rasa: jijnasa
Secondary Rasa: katharasa
Type: ancient city (purī)
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 167.26-29 (transition from city-memory to Viṣṇu-mandira and Viśrānti-tīrtha etymology)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A rākṣasa recounts his constant dwelling in the famed city Ujjayinī while being questioned about a name’s origin.","item_prompts":["city skyline with ramparts/temples","rākṣasa figure speaking","questioner listening","scroll or gesture indicating ‘name/origin’"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: flat perspective Ujjayinī city-gates, stylized rākṣasa with expressive eyes, warm ochres/greens, narrative hand-gestures.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style: rākṣasa as central figure with ornate jewelry, gilded architectural motifs suggesting Ujjayinī, embossed halo-like framing for sacred-city aura.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style: refined linework, subdued palette, detailed palace-temple backdrop of Ujjayinī, calm conversational posture.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari style: hilly-frame vignette with compact city depiction, lyrical dialogue scene, delicate faces and textiles."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative-inquisitive","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"clear, story-telling with a slight interrogative lift on the question."}
FAQs
Ujjayinī is a major classical toponym; Purāṇic references contribute to the layered literary memory of the city in Sanskrit sources.
Ujjayinī—widely identified by scholars with modern Ujjain, a historically prominent center in central-west India.
The narrative foregrounds accountability through self-reporting: the rākṣasa begins by stating origin and residence, setting up later moral causality.
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