Varaha Purana 62.4 — Adhyaya 62, Shloka 4
Instruction on the ‘Health Vow’ and the Rite of Solar Worship
षष्ठ्यां चैव कृताहारः सप्तम्यां भानुमर्चयेत् । अष्टम्यां चैव भुञ्जीत एष एव विधिक्रमः ॥ ६२.४ ॥
ṣaṣṭhyāṃ caiva kṛtāhāraḥ saptamyāṃ bhānum arcayet | aṣṭamyāṃ caiva bhuñjīta eṣa eva vidhikramaḥ || 62.4 ||
షష్ఠి నాడు నియమిత ఆహారం తీసుకొని, సప్తమి నాడు భాను (సూర్యుడు)ను అర్చించి, అష్టమి నాడు భోజనం చేయాలి—ఇదే విధిక్రమం.
Varāha
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
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":"Follow the vrata-krama: regulated food on ṣaṣṭhī, worship Bhānu on saptamī, and take meal on aṣṭamī.","karmic_consequence":"Observing the exact sequence yields the rite’s full phala; breaking the order is treated as vrata-bhaṅga, reducing merit and results."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":true,"vrata_name":"Bhānu-saptamī vrata-krama (three-day sequence)","tithi_month":"Ṣaṣṭhī–Saptamī–Aṣṭamī in Māgha (as framed in this section)","promised_fruit":"Ritual purity and eligibility for the year-long observance and its fruits (stated in 62.62.5)."}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ethical discipline (niyama)","core_concept":"Dharma is enacted through ordered practice; sequence (krama) is itself a carrier of sacred efficacy.","practical_application":"Plan diet and worship around tithi; keep consistency and restraint to stabilize mind and body for devotion."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Ritual Practice","Dharma-śāstra"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
Type: None
Related Themes: 62.62.2 (upavāsa and worship); 62.62.5 (phala for year-long observance)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A three-panel temporal sequence: ṣaṣṭhī regulated meal, saptamī solar worship, aṣṭamī breaking the fast.","item_prompts":["triptych layout with tithi labels","simple regulated meal on day 6","arghya and flowers to Sun on day 7","shared meal/anna on day 8","calendar/pañcāṅga motif"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: narrative triptych with consistent character design; warm dawn tones on saptamī panel; clear ritual implements.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central gold sun panel for saptamī, flanked by smaller panels for ṣaṣṭhī and aṣṭamī; ornate borders.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: elegant sequential storytelling with soft gradients; emphasis on calm discipline and clean ritual space.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: miniature-style three scenes with landscape shifts from dawn to day; simple domestic realism and bright sun icon."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"procedural, steady","suggested_raga":"Bhairav (austere, rule-oriented)","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"measured, didactic"}
FAQs
It preserves a concise procedural outline (vidhi-krama) typical of Purāṇic vrata literature, reflecting how ritual calendars and fasting disciplines were transmitted in Sanskrit narrative compendia.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the content is calendrical and procedural rather than topographical.
The verse emphasizes disciplined conduct through an ordered practice: regulated diet, focused veneration, and appropriate timing—presented as a structured guideline rather than a polemical command.
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