Varaha Purana 172.32: Adhyaya 172, Shloka 32
The Harm of Destroying a Grove and the Merit of Tree-Planting as Pūrta-Dharma
गोकर्ण उवाच ॥ आरामकर्तुः किं चात्र फलं भवति यादृशम् ॥ करणात्कूपदेवानां तस्य पुण्यफलं वद ॥
gokarṇa uvāca | ārāmakartuḥ kiṁ cātra phalaṁ bhavati yādṛśam | karaṇāt kūpadevānāṁ tasya puṇyaphalaṁ vada |
گوکرن نے کہا: “یہاں جو شخص باغ بناتا ہے، اس کے لیے کیسا پھل پیدا ہوتا ہے؟ اور کنوؤں (اور کنوؤں سے وابستہ دیوتاؤں کے نام پر کیے گئے کاموں) کی تعمیر سے جو ثواب کا پھل ملتا ہے، وہ مجھے بتائیے۔”
Gokarṇa
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"questioner","key_question":"What specific merit (phala) accrues from creating an orchard and from constructing/establishing wells and the associated well-deities (kūpa-devatā)?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"dana","instruction_summary":"Public-benefit works (pūrta) such as orchards and wells are queried as meritorious acts with definable fruits.","karmic_consequence":"Undertaking such pūrta-karma yields puṇya and auspicious post-mortem attainments proportional to the act (details answered in following verses)."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-phala / dharma-jijñāsā","core_concept":"Merit is not only ritual (iṣṭa) but also welfare-creating action (pūrta) with ascertainable results.","practical_application":"Support ecological and water-heritage works (orchards, wells) as dharmic investments benefiting beings and accruing puṇya."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Ecological stewardship","Heritage water infrastructure"]
Primary Rasa: jijñāsā
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 172.36-39 (answer: iṣṭa/pūrta theory; restoration of waterworks/temples; tree-planting fruits)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A seated dialogue scene: Gokarṇa respectfully asks an elder (Jyeṣṭha) about the fruits of planting orchards and building wells, with symbolic background of a grove and a well-shrine.","item_prompts":["Gokarṇa as a sage with kamaṇḍalu and matted hair","Jyeṣṭha as an elder instructor on an āsana","orchard saplings and flowering trees","a stone well with a small niche for kūpa-devatā","scroll/palm-leaf manuscript indicating dharma inquiry"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style, warm earthy palette; two sages in profile dialogue under a stylized grove; a laterite-stone well with a small deity niche; ornamental borders.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style with gold-leaf highlights on the well-shrine and halos; rich textiles; orchard rendered as auspicious motif; palm-leaf manuscript in hand.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting style, delicate linework; serene āśrama setting; detailed well parapet and saplings; subdued devotional mood.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style, hillside hermitage; crisp trees and a small well; intimate teacher-student exchange with expressive gestures."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"inquisitive and didactic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"clear, questioning, attentive"}
FAQs
It documents a didactic inquiry about the merit of maintaining orchards and wells, aligning moral discourse with public infrastructure in Purāṇic literature.
No explicit place-name is given; the focus is on general practices (orchards and wells) applicable across regions.
The verse frames orchard creation and well-construction as acts whose moral consequences are worth understanding, implying their social value.
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