Varaha Purana 48.3 — Adhyaya 48, Shloka 3
The Kalki Dvādaśī Observance and the Episode of King Viśāla
शितिकण्ठाय कण्ठं तु खड्गपाणेति वै भुजौ । चतुर्भुजायेति हस्तौ विश्वमूर्त्ते तथा शिरः ॥ ४८.३ ॥
śitikaṇṭhāya kaṇṭhaṃ tu khaḍgapāṇeti vai bhujau | caturbhujāyeti hastau viśvamūrte tathā śiraḥ || 48.3 ||
گلے کو ‘شِتِکَنٹھ’ کے لیے، بازوؤں کو ‘خڈگ پाणی’ کے لیے، ہاتھوں کو ‘چتُربھُج’ کے لیے اور سر کو ‘وشومورتی’ کے لیے مقرر کرے۔
Varāha (default dialogue framework; speaker not explicit in fragment)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"A nyāsa-like mapping of the worshipper’s body to multiple divine epithets teaches that the deity is approached as a composite of forms (Śiva-like Śitikaṇṭha, weapon-bearing Khaḍgapāṇi, Caturbhuja Viṣṇu, and Viśvamūrti), implying the Lord’s pervasion of the microcosm (body) and macrocosm (universal form).","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Not explicit yajña-Varāha limb-mapping; instead, ritual designation (aṅga-nyāsa) assigns: throat=Śitikaṇṭha, arms=Khaḍgapāṇi, hands=Caturbhuja, head=Viśvamūrti.","vedantic_connection":"Supports bhedābheda-style devotional theology: many names/forms are functional upādhis of one all-pervading reality; the body becomes a locus for īśvara-smṛti through nyāsa."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ritual-theology (nyāsa / body-as-temple)","core_concept":"The deity is invoked through names into specific limbs, making the embodied self a support (ālambana) for universal-form contemplation.","practical_application":"In japa/pūjā, perform aṅga-nyāsa with these epithets to stabilize visualization and unify multiple iconographic conceptions into one worship-sequence."}
Subject Matter: ["Iconography","Theology (descriptive, non-prescriptive)","Mantric/ritual designation of body-parts","Philology"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: None
Related Themes: 48.48.4-5 (continuation into installation/dāna sequence)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A ritualist visualizes and touches throat, arms, hands, and head while assigning divine epithets—suggesting a layered deity-form superimposed on the human body.","item_prompts":["practitioner in pūjā posture","hand-to-throat gesture (nyāsa)","subtle overlay of four-armed Viṣṇu on hands","a sword-bearing aspect hinted at on arms","radiant universal-form aura around the head"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: calm priestly figure performing nyāsa; flat yet luminous colors; haloed Viśvamūrti aura at the head; stylized four arms faintly superimposed.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central figure with embossed gold aura around head (Viśvamūrti); hands highlighted with gold ornaments suggesting caturbhuja; minimal background, ritual implements at side.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: delicate linework; soft shading; emphasize mudrā-like touches to limbs; subtle iconographic overlays (sword motif, four-armed silhouette).","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: intimate indoor shrine setting; lyrical depiction of gestures; pale washes; symbolic miniatures of epithets near each limb (throat/arms/hands/head)."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"measured, contemplative, instructional","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"clear, didactic, steady"}
FAQs
It preserves a concise specimen of Purāṇic iconographic language, where divine epithets are systematically associated with bodily features—useful for studying the history of ritual description, visual theology, and Sanskrit epithet formation.
No geographic location is named in this verse-fragment; the content is primarily iconographic and lexical rather than topographical.
The verse does not foreground an ethical injunction; its primary function is descriptive—cataloguing epithets and their association with specific body-parts within a ritual/interpretive framework.
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