Varaha Purana 136.55: Adhyaya 136, Shloka 55

A Sūtra-like Manual of Expiations for Ritual Transgressions

Devanagari script

यावद्रोम वराहस्य मम गात्रेषु संस्थितम् ॥ तावद्वर्षसहस्राणि नरके पच्यते भुवि

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 136.55

Transliteration

yāvad roma varāhasya mama gātreṣu saṃsthitam || tāvad varṣasahasrāṇi narake pacyate bhuvi

Translation

Mientras un solo pelo del jabalí permanezca adherido a mis miembros, por tantos miles de años es cocido en el infierno en los reinos infernales.

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Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as

• roma: hair

• varāhasya: of a boar

• mama: my

• gātreṣu: on the limbs/body

• saṃsthitam: situated/remaining

• tāvat: for that long

• varṣa-sahasrāṇi: thousands of years

• narake: in hell

• pacyate: is cooked/tormented

• bhuvi: on earth/in the world

Speaker

Varāha

Varaha Avatara Context

Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"cosmic_power","boar_form_detail":"रोम (a single hair of Varāha) explicitly mentioned as adhering to the offender’s limbs","earth_interaction":"Didactic address to Earth (Vasundharā), warning about karmic consequence tied to Varāha’s body"}

Bhu Devi Dialogue

Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"attentive/receiving instruction; implied concern for dharma on her surface","key_question":"Implicit: what is the karmic fate of one who violates reverence toward Varāha (through contact/consumption/defilement associated with his body)?"}

Mathura Mandala

Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}

Dharma Shastra

Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"narakas","instruction_summary":"Any act that results in Varāha’s hair being ‘set upon one’s limbs’ (metonymy for defilement/impious contact with Varāha’s body or its flesh) leads to prolonged Naraka suffering.","karmic_consequence":"Thousands of years ‘cooked in hell’ proportionate to the duration/extent of the taint (yāvat…tāvat)."}

Vrata Mahatmya

Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}

Cosmic Boar Symbolism

Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"Varāha’s body is treated as sacrosanct; even a ‘hair’ functions like a ritual boundary-marker—contact through impiety becomes a karmic ‘adhyāsa’ (superimposition) that binds the jīva to infernal retribution.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Romaloma (hair) evokes the idea of the deity’s body as yajña-material; violating it inverts yajña into ‘anti-ritual’ producing Naraka instead of svarga.","vedantic_connection":"Bhakti-violation as aparādha: disrespect toward īśvara’s form produces bondage; purity is framed as alignment with dharma and devotion rather than mere physicality."}

Philosophical Teaching

Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ethics of devotion (aparādha) and karmic retribution","core_concept":"Even minute association with impiety toward the Lord’s form yields disproportionate suffering; dharma is safeguarded by reverence.","practical_application":"Maintain strict non-violence/reverence toward Varāha-symbols and avoid acts construed as desecration (especially dietary/ritual transgressions elaborated in the surrounding verses)."}

Subject Matter

Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Cosmology"]

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: cosmic/underworld

Cross References

Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 136.62-65 (boar-meat offering/consumption leading to Naraka and porcine rebirth)

Visual Art Cues

Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha, as divine teacher, declares a terrifying karmic law: a sinner marked by a single boar-hair is shown being dragged to fiery Naraka beneath the earth.","item_prompts":["Varāha speaking to Bhū-devī","single hair (roma) as symbolic mark","subterranean hellfire cauldrons","messengers of Yama","Earth as layered realm above Naraka"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: seated Varāha with ornate crown and conch/discus motifs implied, Bhū-devī listening; below, stylized Naraka flames and attendants in flat, saturated reds/ochres.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central gold-leaf haloed Varāha instructing; miniature lower register with embossed flames and Yama’s attendants; rich jewelry and gem inlay effect.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined linework Varāha in teaching posture, Bhū-devī modestly veiled; soft gradations; infernal scene suggested in a subdued lower panel.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: lyrical hillside palette for Earth above, with a cutaway to underworld flames; expressive faces—Varāha calm, sinner terrified."}

Audio Atmosphere

Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave admonition","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"deep, weighty, judicial"}

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Purāṇic Afterlife Imagery
• Moral Didacticism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It illustrates Purāṇic moral pedagogy through infernal imagery (naraka), a feature shared across Purāṇas to discourage socially/ritually censured acts.

Which geographic location is identified?

No terrestrial location is given; 'naraka' is a cosmological/afterlife domain.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse functions as a deterrent: actions symbolized here by contact with boar-related impurity/offering are framed as leading to severe karmic suffering.