Varaha Purana 170.69: Adhyaya 170, Shloka 69
The Birth of Gokarṇa and the Fruits of Śiva Worship
including the Śukodara Parrot Episode and Hospitality Ethics
प्राप्तोऽहं शबरेणैव येनाहं पञ्जरे धृतः ॥ शबरस्तु सभार्यो वै क्रीडते स मया सह ॥
prāpto ’haṃ śabareṇaiva yenāhaṃ pañjare dhṛtaḥ | śabaras tu sabhāryo vai krīḍate sa mayā saha ||
میں یقیناً اسی شَبَر کے ہاتھ لگا، جس نے مجھے پنجرے میں قید رکھا۔ وہ شَبَر اپنی بیوی کے ساتھ وہاں میرے ساتھ کھیلتا رہتا ہے۔
Śuka (implied, first-person narration)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"observer","key_question":"How should one understand captivity and dependence within dharma—what is the right conduct for both the confined being and the captor?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"rajaniti","instruction_summary":"Those with power over dependents (even animals/birds) should restrain, protect, and treat them without cruelty; play/possession must not become harm.","karmic_consequence":"Cruel confinement accrues demerit and future suffering; compassionate guardianship yields merit and social harmony."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"Ethics of power and agency","core_concept":"Bondage can be socially normalized (‘play’), yet the bound being’s experience remains real; dharma requires empathy and non-cruelty.","practical_application":"Avoid harming or imprisoning beings for amusement; if caring for animals/birds, ensure freedom-compatible care and minimize suffering."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Social Life","Narrative Literature"]
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: hasya
Type: Domestic/social space
Related Themes: 170.75.0
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Śuka narrates being caught by a Śabara and kept in a cage; the Śabara couple plays with him in their home.","item_prompts":["small bird in a cage (pañjara)","Śabara man with simple attire","Śabara wife beside him","rustic hut interior","mixed mood: playfulness vs confinement"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized tribal household; bold cage geometry; expressive bird eyes; warm earthy tones; narrative clarity.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: ornate but rustic scene; gold accents on cage bars and ornaments; central bird with halo-like emphasis to suggest significance.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: detailed domestic setting; gentle facial expressions; nuanced emotional contrast; fine-line cage depiction.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: miniature village scene; delicate cage; playful couple; poignant bird gaze; soft landscape beyond doorway."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"Narrative, lightly plaintive","suggested_raga":"Khamas","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"storytelling with undertone of sorrow"}
FAQs
It reflects a Purāṇic storytelling mode that embeds social detail (forest communities, domestic life) within moral and liberation-oriented narratives.
No explicit place-name appears in this verse; the setting is implied as a forest-dweller’s (Śabara’s) domestic environment.
Implicitly, it prepares a contrast between confinement/ignorance and later guidance toward liberation; it also frames human–animal interaction as part of the narrative’s moral arc.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.