Varaha Purana 48.6 — Adhyaya 48, Shloka 6
The Kalki Dvādaśī Observance and the Episode of King Viśāla
पूर्वं राजा विशालोऽभूत् काश्यां पुर्यां महाबलः । गोत्रजैर्हृतराज्योऽसौ गन्धमादनमाविशत् ॥ ४८.६ ॥
pūrvaṁ rājā viśālo 'bhūt kāśyāṁ puryāṁ mahābalaḥ | gotrajair hṛta-rājyo 'sau gandhamādanam āviśat || 48.6 ||
پہلے کاشی کی نگری میں وِشال نام کا ایک نہایت طاقتور راجا تھا۔ اپنے ہی قبیلے والوں کے ہاتھوں سلطنت سے محروم ہو کر وہ گندھمادن میں داخل ہوا۔
Varāha (default, speaker not explicit in excerpt)
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":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"itihāsa-style moral exemplum","core_concept":"Worldly sovereignty is unstable; adversity can redirect one toward sacred geography and inner reorientation.","practical_application":"In loss or displacement, seek dharmic refuge—tīrtha, satsanga, and disciplined practice rather than retaliation."}
Subject Matter: ["Heritage Sites","Historical Narrative","Kingship and Exile","Sacred Geography"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: vīra
Type: sacred city and sacred mountain/region
Related Themes: 48.48.7 (arrival at Badarī in the valley)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A powerful king in Kāśī is overthrown by his own kinsmen and departs toward the lofty Gandhamādana, leaving royal splendor behind.","item_prompts":["Kāśī skyline/ghats suggested","dethroned king with minimal retinue","discarded royal insignia","mountain path leading north","somber mood, travel gear"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized city backdrop and then a sweeping mountain band; king with subdued ornaments; strong contour lines; dignified sorrow.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: regal figure with reduced crown, gold accents fading into austere mountain scene; dramatic contrast between palace opulence and ascetic landscape.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: narrative realism; expressive faces of betrayal and resolve; atmospheric depth toward mountains.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: miniature procession leaving a riverside city; layered blue-green hills; poignant, lyrical exile mood."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative, grave","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"solemn, story-telling"}
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic-style memory of royal succession and displacement, using the figure of King Viśāla to frame political instability and exile as a narrative motif within Sanskrit cultural historiography.
Kāśī is named explicitly (commonly identified with the Varanasi region). Gandhamādana is a mytho-geographic toponym associated with mountainous terrain in Sanskrit literature, often linked with Himalayan/near-Himalayan sacred landscapes in broader textual traditions.
The verse foregrounds the vulnerability of political power and the consequences of intra-lineage conflict, implying a philosophical instruction about impermanence of sovereignty and the social costs of factionalism.
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