Varaha Purana 201.47: Adhyaya 201, Shloka 47
The Battle between the Rākṣasas and Yama’s Attendant-Messengers
Uttara Bhāga · Yama–Citragupta–Dūta-saṃvāda (Dharmic Administration and Death)
शासेमहि यथाकामं यथादृष्टं यथाश्रुतम् ॥ त्वया ग्राह्यो ह्यहं देव मृत्युना च सुसंवृतः ॥
śāsemahi yathākāmaṃ yathādṛṣṭaṃ yathāśrutam || tvayā grāhyo hyahaṃ deva mṛtyunā ca susaṃvṛtaḥ ||
shAsemahi yathAkAmaM yathAdRRiShTaM yathAshrutam || tvayA grAhyo hyahaM deva mRRityunA cha susaMvRRitaH
మన ఇష్టానుసారంగా—చూసినదానిని, విన్నదానిని అనుసరించి—పాలన/న్యాయ నిర్ణయం చేద్దాం. కానీ ఓ దేవా! నేను నీచేత గ్రహింపబడవలసినవాడను; మరణముచేత కూడా బలంగా ఆవరించబడ్డాను.
Sandhi Notes
- यथाकामं/यथादृष्टं/यथाश्रुतम् are avyayībhāva compounds
- ग्राह्यो is gerundive (to be taken)
- ह्यहं = हि + अहं
Varāha
How can governance proceed ‘as desired’ yet remain bound to pramāṇa (seen/heard), and why is even a divine agent still subject to being seized and enclosed by Death?
Even power must submit to pramāṇa and to the cosmic law of death/time; desire is subordinated to dharma-knowledge.
Decide and act using verifiable facts and trusted instruction; remember finitude to curb arrogance and injustice.
Judgment/rule should follow pratyakṣa (what is seen) and śruti/smṛti (what is heard), not mere whim; mortality/death remains an enforcing boundary.
Rule aligned with evidence and authoritative teaching yields stability and merit; arbitrary rule invites adharma and punitive consequence (symbolized by ‘Death’).
Varāha Purāṇa: dharma/niyati and time-death motifs (general thematic parallel)
FAQs
It juxtaposes human/agentive governance (“as desired”) with the inevitability of mortality, a recurring Purāṇic theme connecting ethics to finitude.
No location is identified in this verse.
It implies that authority and choice operate within limits set by mortality and overarching order; actions remain accountable despite power.
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