Varaha Purana 22.17: Adhyaya 22, Shloka 17
Gaurī’s Rebirth, Umā’s Austerities, Rudra’s Test, and the Himalayan Wedding
Pūrva Bhāga · Pṛthivī-uddhāra (Earth-restoration) Narrative
यद्येनं नापकर्षामि मकरॆण जले धृतम् । तदानिं ब्रह्मवध्याऽ मे भवतीति न संशयः ॥ २२.१७ ॥
yady enaṁ nāpakarṣāmi makareṇa jale dhṛtam | tadānīṁ brahmavadhyā me bhavatīti na saṁśayaḥ || 22.17 ||
yadyenaM nApakarShAmi makareNa jale dhRRitam | tadAnIM brahmavadhyA me bhavatIti na saMshayaH || 22.17 ||
หากข้าพเจ้าไม่ดึงเขาขึ้นมา ทั้งที่ถูกมกรกักไว้ในน้ำ แล้วในขณะนั้นเองบาปแห่งพรหมหัตยา (การฆ่าพราหมณ์) จะตกแก่ข้าพเจ้า—ปราศจากข้อสงสัย।
Sandhi Notes
- yady enam = yadi + enam
- nāpakarṣāmi = na + apakarṣāmi (vowel sandhi: a + a → ā)
- bhavatīti = bhavati + iti (i + i → ī)
Varāha
Burdened by dharmic stakes; urgent and morally alert
When a life is endangered, does omission of rescue incur grave sin—specifically brahma-hatyā—upon the capable protector?
Karma attaches not only to acts but to culpable omission; dharma demands active protection of life.
When capable, intervene to prevent harm—especially to the vulnerable—rather than rationalizing inaction.
Varāha frames rescue as a dharmic imperative, implicitly protecting beings upon Earth and preventing moral taint that would burden her order.
Failure to save a threatened dvija when one has the power to do so is treated as incurring brahma-hatyā-like guilt.
Rescue averts the gravest demerit; neglect brings immediate, inescapable moral pollution equated with brahma-slaughter.
22.22.18-21 (brahma-hatyā inexpiability; ensuing rescue; shame/silence)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic ethical idiom in which immediate action to prevent harm is framed as a dharmic obligation, using the culturally recognized category of grave transgression (brahma-hatyā/brahmavadhyā) to emphasize moral urgency.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the setting is described generically as “in the water” (jale), with an aquatic creature (makara) as the narrative marker.
The verse foregrounds accountability: failing to rescue someone in immediate danger is portrayed as incurring severe moral culpability, stressing prompt protective action as a key philosophical instruction.
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