Varaha Purana 24.9: Adhyaya 24, Shloka 9
The Birth of the Nāgas, Brahmā’s Curse, and the Pañcamī Observance
शब्दगामी यथा स्पर्शं मनुष्याणां नराधिप । अहन्यहनि जायेत क्षयः परमदारुणः ॥ २४.९ ॥
śabdagāmī yathā sparśaṃ manuṣyāṇāṃ narādhipa | ahanyahani jāyeta kṣayaḥ paramadāruṇaḥ || 24.9 ||
ข้าแต่นราธิป ผู้เป็นเจ้าแห่งมนุษย์ ดังที่เสียงเคลื่อนไปถึงสัมผัสในหมู่มนุษย์ ฉันใด ความเสื่อมอันน่าสะพรึงกลัวยิ่งก็จักเกิดขึ้นวันแล้ววันเล่า ฉันนั้น
Varāha (default, as speaker is not explicit in the fragment)
FAQs
The verse reflects a common Purāṇic didactic motif: diagnosing societal deterioration as an incremental process, expressed through compact simile and courtly address (narādhipa), which situates the instruction within a king-centered ethical discourse.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; it is primarily an ethical-psychological statement using sensory imagery rather than sacred geography.
The verse warns that destructive decline can arise progressively “day by day,” implying the need for vigilance and preventive ethical governance before deterioration becomes severe.
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