Varaha Purana 210.13: Adhyaya 210, Shloka 13
Inquiry into Moral Agency (Karma) and Practical Means for the Dissolution of Sin: the Śiśumāra Contemplation
स्वकर्म भुज्यते तात सम्भूतैर्यत्कृतं स्वयम् ॥ आत्मानं पातयत्यात्मा किञ्चित्कर्म च कारयेत् ॥
svakarma bhujyate tāta sambhūtair yat kṛtaṁ svayam || ātmānaṁ pātayaty ātmā kiñcit karma ca kārayet ||
ดูก่อนบุตรเอ๋ย ในหมู่สัตว์ผู้มีร่างกาย ผู้ใดทำกรรมใดด้วยตน ย่อมเสวยผลกรรมนั้นเอง อาตมันย่อมทำให้อาตมันตกต่ำ และยังเป็นผู้ก่อให้เกิดการกระทำบางประการด้วย
Dharmarāja (inferred)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"instruction_summary":"Karma is personally authored and personally experienced; one’s uplift or downfall is self-caused through one’s own agency.","karmic_consequence":"Ownership of action entails ownership of result: wholesome self-driven action elevates; unwholesome self-driven action degrades."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-yoga / moral agency","core_concept":"Kartṛtva-bhoktṛtva: the doer becomes the experiencer; the self is the proximate cause of its own fall or rise through chosen action.","practical_application":"Adopt deliberate ethical intention (saṅkalpa), restrain harmful impulses, and cultivate actions whose fruits you are willing to own."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Karma theory","Personal responsibility"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: vīra
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 210.15–210.18 (continuation on saṁskāra/saṁjñā, self-uplift, rebirth, and agency)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A didactic setting where a dharma-teacher addresses a listener, emphasizing that one’s deeds return to oneself and that the self can raise or ruin itself.","item_prompts":["seated instructor with palm-leaf manuscript","attentive disciple","gesture of instruction (vyākhyāna-mudrā)","balanced scales or karma-wheel motif in background"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: warm ochres and greens; a serene dharma-teacher in profile teaching a disciple; symbolic chakra/scale motif subtly behind; bold outlines, minimal depth.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style: central guru-figure with ornate arch; gold-leaf halo; disciple kneeling; small embossed karma-wheel and scales; rich reds and greens.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style: delicate linework and soft shading; intimate indoor sabhā; manuscript and rosary; subdued palette; calm, reflective faces.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari style: hillside āśrama veranda; teacher and student seated on rugs; stylized trees; a small circular karma-wheel motif in sky; lyrical, contemplative mood."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic, contemplative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"steady, instructive, inwardly firm"}
FAQs
It encapsulates a widely attested Purāṇic moral principle: the experiencer of results is tied to one’s own prior actions, emphasizing accountability within samsāric causality.
None; the verse addresses moral causality for embodied beings in general.
Personal responsibility: one undergoes the results of one’s own deeds; self-discipline is implied by the claim that the self can uplift or bring itself down.
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