Varaha Purana 14.5 — Adhyaya 14, Shloka 5

Ritual Procedure for Śrāddha: Sequence, Eligibility, and Offerings to Ancestors

Devanagari script

मित्रध्रुक् कुनखी चैव श्यावदन्तस्तथा द्विजः । कन्यादूषयिता वह्निवेदोज्झः सोमविक्रयी ॥ १४.५ ॥

Transliteration

mitradhruk kunakhī caiva śyāvadantas tathā dvijaḥ | kanyādūṣayitā vahnivedojjhaḥ somavikrayī || 14.5 ||

Translation

ผู้ทรยศมิตร ผู้มีเล็บพิกล ผู้เป็นทวิชะฟันคล้ำ ผู้ทำลายพรหมจรรย์ของหญิงสาว ผู้ละเลยไฟศักดิ์สิทธิ์และพระเวท และผู้ขายโสม—ล้วนเป็นผู้ควรถูกติเตียน।

Word by Word

• मित्रध्रुक्: one who betrays friends
• मित्रध्रुक्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मित्र + द्रुह् (धातु; प्रातिपदिक -ध्रुक्)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मित्रं द्रुह्यति इति); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कुनखी: one with bad/deformed nails
• कुनखी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कु + नखिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (कु-नखः यस्य); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (of dvijaḥ)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• एव: indeed
• एव: Nipata (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• श्यावदन्तः: one with dark teeth
• श्यावदन्तः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्याव + दन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (श्यावाः दन्ताः यस्य); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• तथा: also
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (also)

• द्विजः: a Brahmin (twice-born)
• द्विजः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कन्यादूषयिता: defiler of a maiden
• कन्यादूषयिता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या + दूषयितृ (कृदन्त; √दूष् धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कन्यां दूषयति इति); कर्तरि कृदन्त (agent noun), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वह्निवेदोज्झः: one who has abandoned fire-rites and the Veda
• वह्निवेदोज्झः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि + वेद + उज्झ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (वह्निः च वेदः च) + ‘उज्झ’ (त्यागी/परित्यक्ता); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सोमविक्रयी: seller of Soma
• सोमविक्रयी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम + विक्रयिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सोमं विक्रीणाति/विक्रयति इति); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Varāha

Varaha Avatara Context

Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}

Bhu Devi Dialogue

Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}

Mathura Mandala

Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}

Dharma Shastra

Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"shraddha","instruction_summary":"Exclude from śrāddha association/invitation those marked by grave ethical/ritual faults: friend-betrayer, maiden-violator, fire/Veda-neglector, soma-seller; also those with certain bodily deformities listed here.","karmic_consequence":"Including such persons is said to contaminate the rite and obstruct pitṛ-satisfaction; exclusion preserves śrāddha purity and protects the performer from accruing shared demerit (saṃsarga-doṣa)."}

Vrata Mahatmya

Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}

Cosmic Boar Symbolism

Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}

Philosophical Teaching

Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"moral causality and social contagion (saṃsarga-doṣa)","core_concept":"Ritual is not mechanically efficacious; ethical breaches (betrayal, sexual violence, sacrilege, commodifying soma) rupture ṛta/dharma and pollute communal rites.","practical_application":"For communal/ancestral ceremonies, apply ethical screening: prioritize integrity and reverence; do not normalize grave harms by granting ritual honor."}

Subject Matter

Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Ritual Conduct","Social Norms"]

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bībhatsa

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Geographic Context

Type: normative-ritual context

Cross References

Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 14.14.6 (additional excluded categories)

Visual Art Cues

Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha delineates ‘do-not-invite’ categories for śrāddha; the scene shows a threshold where certain figures are turned away while the pure assembly remains within.","item_prompts":["Varāha with admonishing gesture","doorway/threshold motif","shadowed figures representing thief/traitor/soma-seller (symbolic)","sacred fire and piṇḍa plates inside","darbha boundary line"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: strong contrast—inner sanctified space vs outer excluded figures; expressive hand gestures; restrained severity.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central admonition with gold-lit inner ritual area; outer figures subdued; emphasis on purity boundary.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: narrative clarity with dignified restraint; symbolic depiction of faults rather than grotesque realism.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: courtyard scene with gentle but firm exclusion; minimalism, focus on moral message."}

Audio Atmosphere

Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"stern and cautionary","suggested_raga":"Shree","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"firm, clipped articulation"}

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Ethics
• Dharmaśāstra Interface
• Vaiṣṇavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic cataloging style that overlaps with Dharma-śāstric discourse, listing behaviors and ritual violations treated as socially and morally censurable within premodern normative literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is explicitly named in this verse; it is a thematic ethical list rather than a sacred-geography passage.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames betrayal, sexual violation, neglect of ritual/Vedic obligations, and commodification of soma as serious transgressions, functioning as a cautionary ethical taxonomy.