Varaha Purana 8.19: Adhyaya 8, Shloka 19
Dialogue on the Ethical Limits of Subsistence and the Five Great Sacrifices
Dharmavyādha, Mātaṅga, and Prasanna
Pūrva Bhāga · Dharma-ākhyāna (Vyādha–gṛha-saṃvāda)
व्याध उवाच । भोजनं किञ्चिदिच्छामि भोक्तुं चैतन्यवर्जितम् । कौतूहलेन येनाहमागतो भवतो गृहम् ॥ ८.१९ ॥
vyādha uvāca | bhojanaṃ kiñcid icchāmi bhoktuṃ caitanya-varjitam | kautūhalena yenāham āgato bhavato gṛham || 8.19 ||
vyAdha uvAcha | bhojanaM kiMchidichChAmi bhoktuM chaitanyavarjitam | kautUhalena yenAhamAgato bhavato gRRiham || 8.19 ||
వ్యాధుడు అన్నాడు— “నేను కొద్దిగా భోజనం చేయాలని కోరుతున్నాను—చైతన్యము లేని ఆహారం. ఈ కుతూహలంతోనే నేను మీ ఇంటికి వచ్చాను.”
Sandhi Notes
- किञ्चिदिच्छामि → किञ्चित् + इच्छामि
- चैतन्यवर्जितम् = चैतन्य + वर्जित (तत्पुरुष)
- येनाहम् → येन + अहम्
- अहमागतो → अहम् + आगतः
Vyādha (hunter)
Can food ‘devoid of consciousness’ be ethically consumed, and what does non-violence truly require in diet and intention?
Ethics is not only the object (food) but the motive (kautūhala) and the harm-chain behind acquisition.
Before consuming, consider sourcing and harm; cultivate mindful eating aligned with compassion and self-discipline.
Food ethics: prefer non-injurious sustenance; examine intention and harm—curiosity should not justify himsā or unethical consumption.
Choosing low-harm food supports sattva and merit; rationalizing harm for taste/curiosity increases bondage and demerit.
Varaha Purana 8.8.20 (grain-based offering as response)
FAQs
It illustrates a Purāṇic narrative technique where ethical inquiry is framed through dialogue; here, the speaker explicitly raises the question of what constitutes permissible food by invoking “absence of consciousness” as a criterion.
No geographic location is named in this verse; the only setting detail is a domestic space (“your house”), which functions as a narrative locus rather than a toponym.
The verse foregrounds an ethical distinction based on sentience (caitanya), implying that moral evaluation of consumption can be linked to whether the consumed entity is considered conscious or non-conscious.
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