Varaha Purana 199.30: Adhyaya 199, Shloka 30

Description of the Torments of Rebirth: The Asipatravana Punishment and the Mechanics of Karmic Retribution

Devanagari script

असितालवने विप्रा बहुदुःखसमाकुले ॥ तत्र क्षिप्ता मया दृष्टा यमदूतैर्महाबलैः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 199.30

Transliteration

asitālavane viprā bahuduḥkhasamākule || tatra kṣiptā mayā dṛṣṭā yamadūtair mahābalaiḥ

Translation

O Brahmanen, im Asitālava-Wald - erfüllt von großem Leid - sah ich sie dort von Yamas mächtigen Boten hingeworfen.

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Word by Word

• asitālavane: in the Asitālavana (dark grove)
• asitālavane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asita + ālavana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (asita-ālavana)

• viprāḥ: O brāhmaṇas
• viprāḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• bahu-duḥkha-samākule: in (a place) full of many sorrows
• bahu-duḥkha-samākule: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu + duḥkha + samākula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास = ‘full of much suffering’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• kṣiptāḥ: (were) thrown
• kṣiptāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣipta (कृदन्त; √kṣip धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘thrown/cast’

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Kartr̥/Agent of seeing (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭāḥ: seen
• dṛṣṭāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त; √dṛś धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle) used predicatively; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘seen’

• yama-dūtaiḥ: by Yama’s messengers
• yama-dūtaiḥ: Karana/Agent in passive (करण/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama + dūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (yamasya dūtāḥ)

• mahā-balaiḥ: very strong
• mahā-balaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (mahā-bala)

Speaker

Varāha (default speaker per dialogue framework; address to “viprāḥ” suggests narration to interlocutors)

Tags

• Purāṇic Literature
• Yama Traditions
• Mythic Geography
• Afterlife Imagery

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It situates the narrative within the broader Indic Yama-and-messengers tradition, a shared cultural framework for moral instruction.

Which geographic location is identified?

Asitālavanam is named; it is best treated as mythic topography in this excerpt rather than a mapped historical site.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Wrongdoing is framed as leading to being ‘cast’ into suffering realms by forces representing moral order and retribution.