Varaha Purana 195.23 — Adhyaya 195, Shloka 23
Description of Sinners Abiding in Yama’s Realm
Catalog of Transgressions and the Logic of Retribution
न गच्छन्ति च ये तत्र दानेन निगमेण च॥ वैतरण्याश्च यद्रूपं किं तोयं च वहत्यसौ॥
na gacchanti ca ye tatra dānena nigamena ca || vaitaraṇyāś ca yadrūpaṃ kiṃ toyaṃ ca vahaty asau
And who are those who do not go there—through gifts and through the Nigamas (Vedic ordinances)? And what is the form of the Vaitaraṇī, and what kind of water does it carry?
Pṛthivī (default inquirer role; explicit speaker not stated in fragment)
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":"curious, concerned","key_question":"दानेन निगमेन च के वैतरणीं न गच्छन्ति? वैतरणी किंरूपा, तस्या तोयं कीदृशम्?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"dana","instruction_summary":"दानेन तथा निगम-विहित-कर्मणा नरक-मार्गविशेषात् (वैतरणी-प्रसङ्गात्) परित्राणं सम्भवति—इति प्रश्न-रूपेण धर्म-प्रवर्तनम्।","karmic_consequence":"दाना-श्रुति-आज्ञापालनात् दुर्गति-निवृत्तिः; तदभावे भयङ्कर-मार्ग-प्राप्तिः।"}
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":"ritual-ethics","core_concept":"श्रुति-निगम-आज्ञा तथा दानं—एते परलोक-गत्यां निर्णायक-उपायाः इति पुराण-नैतिकी।","practical_application":"यथाशक्ति दान-आचरणं, वैदिक-विहित-कर्मानुष्ठानं, परलोक-हिताय सत्कर्म-संचयः।"}
Subject Matter: ["Afterlife cosmology","Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: otherworldly river/threshold
Related Themes: 195.25.0; 195.27.0
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"पृथिवी देवी प्रश्नं पृच्छति—वैतरणी-नदीरूपं, तस्याः जलस्वरूपं च; पृष्ठभूमौ यमलोक-सीमा-नदी-आभासः।","item_prompts":["पृथिवी देवी (भूदेवी) जिज्ञासु-मुद्रा","अलौकिक नदी","धूम्र-आकाश","दूरस्थ यम-सीमा-चिह्नानि"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"भूदेवी हरित-वसन-धारिणी, प्रश्न-मुद्रया, पृष्ठे धूसर-नदी-रेखा, अलौकिक-सीमा-चिह्नानि, समतल-रङ्ग-प्रयोगः।","tanjore_prompt":"भूदेवी प्रमुख-केन्द्रे, स्वर्ण-आभरण-उज्ज्वलता, पृष्ठे नदी-पट्टिका, सीमित-भय-रङ्गाः।","mysore_prompt":"कोमल-छायांकनयुक्ता भूदेवी, सूक्ष्म-रेखांकनं, पृष्ठे नदी-धूम्रता, प्रश्न-भाव-प्रधान नेत्राभिनयः।","pahari_prompt":"सरल-रेखाः, भूदेवी लघु-आकृत्या, पृष्ठे वक्र-नदी, शीतल-रङ्गपटलम्, जिज्ञासा-भावः।"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"inquiring, reflective","suggested_raga":"Puriya","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"clear, interrogative"}
FAQs
It preserves a widely attested Purāṇic motif—the Vaitaraṇī river—while linking it to ethical-ritual discourse (dāna and Vedic injunctions).
Vaitaraṇī is identified as a cosmological river motif; it is not a straightforward reference to a single historical river, though later traditions sometimes map such names onto terrestrial geography.
The verse foregrounds the idea that charitable action and adherence to recognized ethical-ritual frameworks are treated as protective factors in the narrative logic.
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