Varaha Purana 174.39 — Adhyaya 174, Shloka 39

The Sanctifying Power of River Confluences: Release from the Preta-State and the Rite of Śravaṇa Dvādaśī with Vāmana Worship

Devanagari script

तेनैव चोदरस्थेन स प्रेतो जायते ध्रुवम् ॥ नग्नकापालिपाषण्डसङ्गतासनभोजनैः ॥

Transliteration

tenaiva codarasthena sa preto jāyate dhruvam || nagnakāpālipaṣaṇḍasaṅgatāsanabhojanaiḥ

Translation

Dahil sa mismong (pagkaing) iyon na nananatili sa kanyang tiyan, tiyak na siya’y nagiging preta; gayundin sa pakikisama sa mga hubad na asceta, sa mga may dalang bungo, at sa mga pangkat na salungat sa dharma—sa pag-upo at pagkain kasama nila.

Word by Word

• tena: by that
• tena: Karaṇa (करण) / Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• eva: indeed / alone
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध) — emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• udara-sthena: by what is in the stomach
• udara-sthena: Karaṇa (करण) / Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udara (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; ‘उदरे स्थित’ (located in the belly)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• pretaḥ: a preta
• pretaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) in predicate-state
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• jāyate: is born / becomes
• jāyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• dhruvam: certainly
• dhruvam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्यय (adverb)

• nagna-kāpāli-pāṣaṇḍa-saṅgata-āsana-bhojanaiḥ: by association, seating, and eating with naked ascetics, Kāpālikas, and heretics
• nagna-kāpāli-pāṣaṇḍa-saṅgata-āsana-bhojanaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण) / Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nagna (प्रातिपदिक) + kāpāli (प्रातिपदिक) + pāṣaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṅgata (कृदन्त, सम्+गम् धातु) + āsana (प्रातिपदिक) + bhojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (collective copulative): ‘(by) association/seat/food with naked (ascetics), Kāpālika-s, and heretics’

Speaker

Vipra (continuation; explicit speaker began at 42)

Varaha Avatara Context

Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}

Bhu Devi Dialogue

Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}

Mathura Mandala

Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}

Dharma Shastra

Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"prayaschitta","instruction_summary":"Preta-birth is attributed to the lingering impurity of such food in the belly and to commensality/association with naked, skull-bearing, and pāṣaṇḍa groups (text’s polemical purity norm).","karmic_consequence":"Association and shared eating/seating with condemned groups is said to precipitate preta-state."}

Vrata Mahatmya

Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}

Cosmic Boar Symbolism

Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}

Philosophical Teaching

Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-psychology","core_concept":"Saṅga (company) and sahabhojana (commensality) are portrayed as transmitters of moral/ritual consequence.","practical_application":"Choose company and shared meals carefully according to one’s vowed dharma boundaries (as defined by the text)."}

Subject Matter

Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Social association norms","Post-mortem states"]

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayānaka

Secondary Rasa: śānta

Geographic Context

Type: None

Cross References

Related Themes: Varaha Purana 174.42 (food cause); Varaha Purana 174.44 (contact and puṇya-loss)

Visual Art Cues

Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A cautionary tableau: the karmic residue of food in the belly leading to preta-state, and a separate vignette of a person seated and eating among naked ascetics and skull-bearing practitioners, framed as dangerous association.","item_prompts":["split-scene composition","symbolic belly/inner residue motif (subtle aura)","group of naked ascetics (digambara)","kapāla (skull-bowl)","shared seating and meal setting"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized ascetics with restrained depiction; skull-bowl iconography; moral contrast via color (sage/householder bright, condemned group muted).","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: ornate central figure with gold; secondary vignette darker; skull-bowl highlighted; strong compositional separation.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: elegant, less graphic; emphasize symbolic skull-bowl and seating; subdued cautionary palette.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative two-panel; expressive faces; ascetic group in rocky setting; household meal scene contrasted."}

Audio Atmosphere

Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave-cautionary","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"low, weighty"}

Tags

• Purāṇic Polemical Vocabulary
• Dharma-śāstra discourse
• Sanskrit Lexicography

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves sectarian labeling and social-boundary language valuable for mapping inter-tradition perceptions in medieval/late-classical Sanskrit discourse.

Which geographic location is identified?

No place-name appears here.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The text warns that certain foods and certain associations (especially commensality) are portrayed as leading to an undesirable post-mortem state.