Varaha Purana 5.43: Adhyaya 5, Shloka 43
Reconciliation of Action and Knowledge: Offering All Acts to Nārāyaṇa and the Hymn to the Yajña-Puruṣa
कपिलस्य वचः श्रुत्वा स राजाऽश्वशिरा विभुः । ज्येष्ठं पुत्रं समाहूय धन्यं स्थूलशिराह्वयम् । अभिषिच्य निजे राज्ये स राजा प्रययौ वनम् ॥ ५.४३ ॥
kapilasya vacaḥ śrutvā sa rājā’śvaśirā vibhuḥ | jyeṣṭhaṁ putraṁ samāhūya dhanyaṁ sthūlaśirāhvayam | abhiṣicya nije rājye sa rājā prayayau vanam || 5.43 ||
కపిలుని వచనాలు విని, ఆ శక్తిమంతుడైన రాజు అశ్వశిరుడు తన జ్యేష్ఠపుత్రుడు ధన్యుని—స్థూలశిరుడు అనే పేరుతో ప్రసిద్ధుడిని—పిలిపించి, తన రాజ్యంలో అభిషేకించి, రాజు అరణ్యానికి బయలుదేరాడు.
Varāha (default narrative frame; speaker not explicit in this excerpt)
FAQs
It preserves a common Purāṇic narrative pattern: a king receives authoritative counsel, installs an heir through consecration, and withdraws to the forest—reflecting ideals of orderly succession and life-stage transition in South Asian literary culture.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; it refers generally to 'the forest' (vanam) as a conventional setting for withdrawal and ascetic life.
The verse emphasizes responsible governance through legitimate succession (abhiṣeka of the heir) and disciplined renunciation, presenting abdication as a regulated ethical choice rather than disorderly abandonment.
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