Varaha Purana 116.15 — Adhyaya 116, Shloka 15
An Exposition on the Causes of Happiness and Suffering
धावन्त्यस्याग्रतः पृष्ठे ततो दुःखतरं नु किम् ॥ अश्नन्ति पिशितं केचित्केचिच्छालिसमन्वितम्
dhāvanty asyāgrataḥ pṛṣṭhe tato duḥkhataraṃ nu kim || aśnanti piśitaṃ kecit kecic chāli-samanvitam
พวกเขาวิ่งอยู่ทั้งข้างหน้าและข้างหลังเขา—จะมีสิ่งใดเจ็บปวดยิ่งกว่านี้เล่า? บางคนกินเนื้อสัตว์ และบางคนกินอาหารพร้อมข้าว
Varāha (default, instructional voice)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"instruction_summary":"Varāha points to painful social contrasts—people chase and are chased, and diets vary (meat vs rice)—as effects of prior karma, urging ethical reflection rather than envy or cruelty.","karmic_consequence":"Understanding karmic causality reduces envy and violence; ignoring it perpetuates harmful conduct that ripens as future suffering and degraded births."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-phala / ethical discernment","core_concept":"Visible disparities in pursuit, fear, and sustenance arise from one’s own past actions (ātma-karman), so one should cultivate dharma rather than judge by externals.","practical_application":"Practice ahiṃsā, moderation in consumption, and compassion toward those in distress; avoid pride in prosperity and contempt for the poor."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Karma","Social Observation"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa adhyāya 116 (karma-vaiṣamya observations continuing in adjacent verses)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A didactic tableau of human inequality: some people running ahead and behind a powerful figure (symbolizing pursuit/fear), while nearby groups eat different foods—meat for some, rice-based fare for others—under Varāha’s unseen moral gaze.","item_prompts":["contrasting groups (hunters/meat-eaters vs rice-eaters)","figures running in front and behind (pursuit/fear motif)","a calm divine narrator presence (Varāha implied)","expressions of distress and disparity"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style, flat luminous colors; depict contrasting social groups in two registers, with an implied divine narrator aura at the top; emphasize expressive eyes and rhythmic composition.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style with gold-leaf haloed divine presence (Varāha implied or as narrator), richly ornamented borders; foreground two food groups (meat platter vs rice bowl) with strong contrast.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting style, delicate linework; a moralizing scene with subtle gestures—some fleeing/pursuing, others eating; soft background architecture suggesting a town.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style, hillside-town vignette; small figures in narrative clusters showing pursuit and differing meals; cool palette with fine detailing."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave, reflective","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"didactic, compassionate, slightly admonitory"}
FAQs
The verse uses everyday markers—movement, attendants, and diet—to depict social differentiation, a frequent Purāṇic technique for moral instruction.
No location is specified; the passage is descriptive of social scenes rather than sacred geography.
To contemplate suffering intensified by comparison: witnessing others’ activity and consumption while oneself is constrained by impending death.
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