Varaha Purana 202.5 — Adhyaya 202, Shloka 5

Description of Infernal Punishments and the Ripening of Karmic Consequences

Devanagari script

पितृघ्नो मातृगोह्नस्तु सर्वदोषसमन्वितः ॥ आरोप्य शाल्मलीं घोरां कण्टकैस्तैर्विपाटय ॥

Transliteration

pitṛghno mātṛgohnas tu sarvadoṣasamanvitaḥ || āropya śālmalīṃ ghorāṃ kaṇṭakais tair vipāṭaya

Translation

وأما قاتلُ الأبِ والأمِّ والبقرة—المتلبِّسُ بكلِّ الآثام—فأصعِدوه على شجرةِ الشَّالملي (śālmalī) الرهيبة، ومزِّقوه بتلك الأشواك.

Word by Word

• pitṛ-ghnaḥ: killer of father
• pitṛ-ghnaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/विषयः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः—‘pitṝn hanti’ (father-killer)

• mātṛ-go-hnaḥ: killer of mother and cow
• mātṛ-go-hnaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/विषयः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + go (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Singular (एकवचन); द्वन्द्वः—mātṛ-han + go-han (killer of mother and cow)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; emphasis/contrast particle (विरोध/निश्चय)

• sarva-doṣa-samanvitaḥ: endowed with all faults
• sarva-doṣa-samanvitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + doṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः—‘sarvaiḥ doṣaiḥ samanvitaḥ’

• āropya: having made (him) climb / having mounted
• āropya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + ruh (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा/ल्यप्), indeclinable (अव्ययभाव); expresses prior action

• śālmalīm: the śālmalī tree (silk-cotton tree)
• śālmalīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śālmalī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन)

• ghorām: terrible
• ghorām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन); agrees with śālmalīm

• kaṇṭakaiḥ: with thorns
• kaṇṭakaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṇṭaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया) Plural (बहुवचन)

• taiḥ: with those
• taiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Instrumental (तृतीया) Plural (बहुवचन); refers to kaṇṭakaiḥ

• vipāṭaya: tear/rip (him) apart
• vipāṭaya: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + paṭ (धातु)
• Form: Causative (णिच्) Imperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष) Singular (एकवचन); parasmaipada

Speaker

Ṛṣi (narrator; reporting punitive instruction)

Varaha Avatara Context

Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}

Bhu Devi Dialogue

Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"observer","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}

Mathura Mandala

Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}

Dharma Shastra

Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"narakas","instruction_summary":"Grave mahāpātakas—killing father, mother, or cow—lead to extreme torment: climbing the dreadful śālmalī and being ripped by thorns.","karmic_consequence":"Mahāpātaka ripens into intensified, prolonged suffering; the offender is torn by thorny śālmalī as retributive ordeal."}

Vrata Mahatmya

Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}

Cosmic Boar Symbolism

Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}

Philosophical Teaching

Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"dharma hierarchy / sanctity of relations","core_concept":"Certain bonds (parents, cow as dharma-symbol) are foundational; violating them destabilizes moral order and yields severe karmic recoil.","practical_application":"Honor parents/guardians; protect cows and dependents; treat foundational relationships as dharma-priority."}

Subject Matter

Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Afterlife jurisprudence"]

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Geographic Context

Type: otherworldly thorn-tree torture grove

Cross References

Related Themes: Varaha Purana: adhyaya 202 (mahāpātaka punishments)

Visual Art Cues

Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A condemned mahāpātakin forced up a towering śālmalī tree, its long thorns tearing flesh as agents compel the climb.","item_prompts":["giant śālmalī tree","needle-like thorns","climbing condemned figure","punitive attendants","dark sky with ember glow"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: monumental thorn-tree with patterned spikes; stylized attendants; intense reds/ochres; moral drama.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: ornate tree silhouette with gold accents on thorns; central figure climbing; decorative border framing terror.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: detailed botanical rendering of śālmalī, elegant linework, restrained violence, narrative clarity.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: vertical composition emphasizing height of tree; crisp thorn motifs; expressive but minimal background."}

Audio Atmosphere

Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"solemn, warning","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"deep, weighty"}

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Dharma Literature

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a widely attested Purāṇic penal motif (śālmalī) and a taxonomy of extreme transgressions framed within karmic consequence literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is identified; śālmalī here functions as a cosmological-punitive image rather than a mapped terrestrial site.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

It underscores the gravity attributed to certain harms (especially familial and socially foundational violence) within the text’s moral-judicial framework.