Varaha Purana 17.13 — Adhyaya 17, Shloka 13
King Prajāpāla’s Visit to Sage Mahātapā’s Hermitage and the Doctrinal Praise of Nārāyaṇa
मखाग्निधूमैरुदिताग्निहोमै- स्ततः समन्तात् गृहमेदिभिर्द्विजैः । सिंहैरिवाधर्म्मकरी विदारितः स तीक्ष्णदंष्ट्रैर्वरमत्तकेसरैः ॥ १७.१३ ॥
makhāgnidhūmair uditāgnihomaiḥ stataḥ samantāt gṛhamedhibhir dvijaiḥ | siṁhair ivādharmakarī vidāritaḥ sa tīkṣṇadaṁṣṭrair varamattakesaraiḥ || 17.13 ||
เมื่อควันจากไฟบูชายัญและอัคนิโหตระที่ลุกโชนฟุ้งขึ้น เขาถูกล้อมรอบทุกทิศโดยพราหมณ์คฤหัสถ์ แล้วผู้ก่ออธรรมผู้นั้นก็ถูกสิงโตผู้มีเขี้ยวคมและแผงคออันงามดุจมึนเมา ฉีกกระชากราวกับเป็นเหยื่อ.
Varāha (default, speaker not explicit in fragment)
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":"rajaniti","instruction_summary":"Adharma is to be suppressed/removed in a society protected by Vedic householders maintaining agnihotra and sacrificial fires; ritual order supports social order.","karmic_consequence":"Sustaining agnihotra/yajña strengthens dharmic protection; aligning with adharma leads to destruction and social repudiation (portrayed as being ‘torn apart’)."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"The verse juxtaposes yajña-fire (ṛta) with the tearing down of adharma, echoing the Purāṇic idea that cosmic order is upheld by sacrifice and by divine/royal enforcement.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Agni smoke and agnihotra flames form a protective mandala around dharma; ‘lions’ with sharp fangs function as the fierce guardians of ṛta that rend adharma.","vedantic_connection":"Dharma as expression of cosmic order (ṛta) is sustained by disciplined action (karma-yoga-like yajña); adharma is self-destructive when opposed by ordered consciousness and community."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"dharma as protective order","core_concept":"Ritual discipline and communal dharma generate a force that repels and dismantles adharma.","practical_application":"Maintain daily disciplines (nitya-karma) and support dharmic institutions; confront adharma decisively rather than accommodating it."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Ritual Culture","Social Order (Dharma/Adharma)"]
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: vira
Type: grāma/āśrama-periphery ritual zone
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa: passages praising agnihotra and gṛhastha-dharma as world-support (general internal parallel)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A ring of Vedic householders around blazing fires; smoke rising; in the center, a dark figureification of adharma being attacked like prey by fierce lions with sharp fangs and full manes.","item_prompts":["multiple agnihotra altars","rising smoke columns","brāhmaṇas with ladles and kuśa","glowing embers","lions mid-pounce","a shadowy ‘adharma’ figure being torn"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: dramatic reds/oranges for fire; stylized lions with exaggerated manes; brāhmaṇas in rhythmic arrangement around a central scene.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-leaf flames and smoke curls; symmetrical ring of ritualists; central violent vignette with ornate lions.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: controlled drama; detailed firelight on faces; lions rendered with classical restraint; strong chiaroscuro.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: compact narrative panel; stylized fire altars; expressive lions; smoky sky band above."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"forceful, admonitory","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"medium-fast","voice_tone":"firm, intense, with sharp consonantal emphasis"}
FAQs
It reflects a Purāṇic literary pattern in which social stability is associated with Vedic domestic ritual practice (e.g., agnihotra), using vivid animal similes to depict the suppression of adharma within an idealized ritual society.
No explicit geographic toponym appears in this verse; the imagery is social-ritual and ethical rather than tied to a named sacred site.
The verse frames adharma as something to be opposed and ‘torn apart’ by disciplined, ritually grounded social actors—presenting ethical order as reinforced through established duties and communal vigilance.
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