Varaha Purana 71.23: Adhyaya 71, Shloka 23
Vision of the Trimūrti in Rudra, the Gautama Curse, the Manifestation of the Godāvarī, and the Niḥśvāsa-saṃhitā Account
Pūrva Bhāga · Pr̥thivī-uddhāra / Narrative Dialogue (Contextual Episode)
एवमुक्त्वा पुनश्चोचुः सोपाधिगमनं प्रति । कृत्वा मायामयीं गां तु तच्छालौ ते व्यसर्जयन् ॥ ७१.२३ ॥
evam uktvā punaś cocuḥ sopādhigamanaṁ prati | kṛtvā māyāmayīṁ gāṁ tu tacchālau te vyasarjayan || 71.23 ||
evamuktvA punashchochuH sopAdhigamanaM prati | kRRitvA mAyAmayIM gAM tu tachChAlau te vyasarjayan || 71.23 ||
ครั้นกล่าวดังนั้นแล้ว พวกเขากล่าวอีกถึงการเข้าไปหาโดยมีข้ออ้าง และได้เนรมิตโคอันเป็นมายาแล้วปล่อยเข้าไปในคอกโคของเขา
Sandhi Notes
- पुनश्चोचुः = पुनः + च + ऊचुः (visarga sandhi: ḥ + c → ś c; vowel coalescence)
- तच्छालौ = तत् + शालौ (t + ś → cch)
Varāha
Ethical clarity is tested when reality is obscured; dharma requires both right perception and right motive.
Avoid ‘gotcha’ tests in spiritual life; cultivate transparent inquiry and verify perceptions before acting.
Māyā as narrative device: the ‘illusory cow’ dramatizes how appearances can provoke karmic action, underscoring the need for viveka.
Advaita/Vedānta-friendly motif: actions performed under avidyā/māyā still bind unless illumined by discernment and right intention.
Using pretext (upādhi) and māyā to test or entrap a sage raises ethical questions about means vs ends in dharma-inquiry.
Deceptive testing can rebound as adharma if motivated by pride or harm; if framed as a legitimate dharma-parīkṣā, it still risks generating doṣa requiring expiation.
Directly precedes Gautama’s water-gesture and the cow’s fall (71.71.24)
FAQs
It illustrates a common Purāṇic narrative device—testing or manipulating a situation through māyā (artifice/illusion)—useful for studying plot mechanics and ethical framing in Sanskrit narrative literature.
No explicit geographic location is named in this verse; the setting detail is limited to a cowshed (śālā), a generic rural/pastoral space in Sanskrit narrative contexts.
Implicitly, it foregrounds the theme of deceptive approach (sopādhi-gamana) and the creation of an illusory object, inviting reflection on intention, manipulation, and the moral evaluation of means used to reach an end.
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