Varaha Purana 5.14 — Adhyaya 5, Shloka 14
Reconciliation of Action and Knowledge: Offering All Acts to Nārāyaṇa and the Hymn to the Yajña-Puruṣa
बृहस्पतिर्देवगुरू रैभ्यं वचनमन्तिके । किं करोमि महाभाग वेदवेदाङ्गपारग ॥ ५.१४ ॥
bṛhaspatir devagurū raibhyaṃ vacanam antike | kiṃ karomi mahābhāga veda-vedāṅga-pāraga || 5.14 ||
Bṛhaspati, bậc thầy của chư thiên, nói gần bên Raibhya: “Bậc đại phúc, người thông suốt Veda và Vedāṅga, ta phải làm gì đây?”
Bṛhaspati
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"questioner","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"What course of action should be undertaken—what is the right ‘to do’—in a situation requiring dharmic discernment?"}
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":"epistemic humility / dharma-vicāra","core_concept":"Even the learned seek guidance; dharma requires consultation (saṃvid) and inquiry rather than impulse.","practical_application":"When uncertain, approach a qualified knower (veda-vedāṅga-pāraga) and ask directly, without ego."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Pedagogy","Dialogue","Dharma-shastra (contextual)"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: dialogue space within sabhā
Related Themes: VP 5.5.15 (Raibhya’s explicit question on karma vs mokṣa)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Bṛhaspati, radiant as deva-guru, leans slightly toward Raibhya and asks, with respectful address, what he should do.","item_prompts":["Bṛhaspati with halo and guru attributes (kamandalu/rosary)","Raibhya as venerable king-sage","close conversational spacing (antike)","teaching/asking hand gesture","quiet attentive background figures"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: Bṛhaspati haloed, turned toward Raibhya; expressive eyes and hand-mudrā of inquiry; subdued sabhā backdrop.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: luminous Bṛhaspati with gold halo; Raibhya richly dressed yet ascetic in demeanor; ornate arch framing the intimate exchange.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined portrait-like two-figure composition; subtle gesture of inquiry; soft interior lighting.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: delicate linework; two figures in profile conversation; minimal court elements, emphasis on the spoken question."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"inquiring, respectful","suggested_raga":"Kalyāṇi","pace":"slow-medium","voice_tone":"gentle, interrogative, reverent"}
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic narrative technique: authoritative figures (here Bṛhaspati) seek counsel from renowned sages, foregrounding learned transmission and the prestige of Vedic-auxiliary scholarship.
No geographic location is explicitly named in this verse; it is set within a conversational scene rather than a sacred-geography description.
The verse emphasizes intellectual humility and counsel-seeking: even a highly placed teacher consults an acknowledged expert, presenting learned deliberation as a normative practice.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in 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 audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.