Varaha Purana 172.19 — Adhyaya 172, Shloka 19
The Harm of Destroying a Grove and the Merit of Tree-Planting as Pūrta-Dharma
रुरोदोच्चैः स्वरं दीना हा कष्टमिति जल्पती ॥ सर्वासां रुदतीनां च कुररीणामिव स्वनः ॥
rurodoccaiḥ svaraṁ dīnā hā kaṣṭam iti jalpatī || sarvāsāṁ rudatīnāṁ ca kurarīṇām iva svanaḥ ||
นางผู้ทุกข์ระทมร่ำไห้เสียงดัง พลางคร่ำครวญว่า “โอ้ แสนสาหัส!” และเสียงร่ำไห้ของเหล่าทั้งปวงก็ประหนึ่งเสียงร้องของนกกุรรี
Pṛthivī (default dialogue framework; narrator reporting a woman’s lament)
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":"observer","bhu_devi_state":"grief-stricken; empathetic with the lamenting woman/collective","key_question":"How can such grievous harm be borne—what refuge remains when sacred life and heritage are violated?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"poetic-ethical insight","core_concept":"Suffering becomes communicative: lament is a moral witness that exposes adharma and calls for restoration.","practical_application":"Do not dismiss communal grief; treat it as evidence prompting repair, restitution, and renewed protection of sacred ecology."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Cultural Heritage"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: śṛṅgāra
Type: human settlement/precinct adjacent to grove
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 172.18–19 (cause: devastation and sinful intent); Varāha Purāṇa 172.22–23 (response: Gokarṇa’s distress and consolation)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A distressed woman weeps loudly, crying ‘hā kaṣṭam’; around her others weep, their cries likened to kurarī birds calling across a desolate landscape.","item_prompts":["woman with tear-streaked face","hands raised or clutching chest","group of weeping women/people","kurarī birds in sky or near water","ruined grove in background","sense of echoing sound"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: expressive eyes and tears; rhythmic repetition of weeping figures; kurarī birds stylized; background in earthy tones showing ruin.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central lamenting figure with ornate jewelry subdued by sorrow; gold used sparingly; birds as decorative but mournful motifs.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: soft, realistic rendering of tears and posture; delicate birds; atmospheric depth with ruined grove behind.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: lyrical composition—lamenting figure foreground, birds in sweeping arc; pale washes conveying sound and emptiness."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"lamentation, intensely compassionate","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"trembling, plaintive"}
FAQs
It showcases Purāṇic affective narration and poetic comparison (upamā), indicating how emotional response is used to underscore the gravity of loss.
No location is named in this verse; it is a descriptive scene within the ongoing narrative.
The verse emphasizes empathetic recognition of harm and loss, using collective lament as a moral signal of wrongdoing’s consequences.
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