Varaha Purana 116.21: Adhyaya 116, Shloka 21
An Exposition on the Causes of Happiness and Suffering
पापकर्मरता ह्यासन्ततो दुःखतरं नु किम् ॥ लब्ध्वा तु मानुषीं संज्ञां पञ्चभूत समन्विताम्
pāpa-karmaratā hy āsan tato duḥkhataraṃ nu kim || labdhvā tu mānuṣīṃ saṃjñāṃ pañca-bhūta-samanvitām
พวกเขาหมกมุ่นในกรรมชั่วอย่างแท้จริง—มีสิ่งใดเจ็บปวดยิ่งกว่านี้เล่า? ครั้นได้สภาพ/นามแห่งความเป็นมนุษย์ อันประกอบด้วยมหาภูตทั้งห้าแล้ว,
Varāha (default, instructional voice)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"earth_interaction":"Varāha continues instructing Pṛthivī, stressing the tragedy of sinful engagement despite human embodiment."}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"concerned; contemplating the burden of beings’ suffering caused by their choices","key_question":"Why do humans, though endowed with a rare embodied condition (pañcabhūta-samanvita), persist in pāpa and thereby deepen suffering?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"instruction_summary":"Human birth (with pañcabhūta embodiment) should be used for dharmic striving; pāpa-rati (delight in sin) is condemned as the height of misfortune.","karmic_consequence":"Sinful fixation leads to intensified duḥkha and adverse karmic fruition; right use of human life implies the possibility of uplift."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"The mention of pañcabhūta frames the human as a field for dharma: embodied nature is a ritual-cosmic microcosm that should be oriented to the divine rather than to pāpa.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Implicit (microcosm): body as pañcabhūta-constructed altar/field; misuse becomes anti-yajña (disordering the cosmic harmony).","vedantic_connection":"Embodiment is an instrument for puruṣārtha; ignorance-driven identification with guṇa-driven impulses yields duḥkha—an ethical-theistic reading compatible with Sāṃkhya vocabulary (bhūtas) and Vaiṣṇava telos."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"anthropological-ethical","core_concept":"Human embodiment (pañcabhūta) is a rare enabling condition; choosing pāpa despite this is the deepest self-harm.","practical_application":"Treat embodied life as a disciplined opportunity: restrain pāpa-rati, cultivate dharma and devotion, and remember the purpose of human birth."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Karma","Anthropology (five elements)"]
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Related Themes: Continuation into 116.24 on śaraṇāgati (refuge) as the corrective
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A didactic tableau contrasting human embodiment’s sacred potential with the darkness of sinful inclination—Varāha teaching while symbolic pañcabhūtas surround a human figure.","item_prompts":["Varāha instructing","Bhu Devi listening","human figure at center or vignette","symbols of five elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether)","shadowy motifs representing pāpa (chains, smoke)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: five-element mandala behind a human figure; Varāha and Bhu Devi in the foreground; strong color blocks for elements; moral contrast via darker tones for pāpa.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-leaf haloed Varāha; embossed pañcabhūta icons around; a small inset of a human turning toward/away from light to show choice.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined elemental symbols (lotus, wave, flame, breeze lines, sky orb); restrained depiction of sin as subtle darkness; emphasis on teaching gesture.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative vignette—human tempted by dark figures while elements appear as nature motifs; Varāha’s counsel as a calm counterpoint."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"admonitory, contemplative","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"firm, sorrow-tinged"}
FAQs
It links ethics to cosmological anthropology (pañcabhūta embodiment), illustrating how Purāṇas integrate moral teaching with elemental theory.
No geographic location is specified.
Human embodiment is portrayed as a significant opportunity; being devoted to harmful actions is presented as a particularly grave misuse of that condition.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.