Varaha Purana 195.1 — Adhyaya 195, Shloka 1
Description of Sinners Abiding in Yama’s Realm
Catalog of Transgressions and the Logic of Retribution
अथ यमलोकस्थपापिवर्णनम् ॥ नाचिकेत उवाच ॥ कथ्यमानं मया विप्राः शृण्वन्तु तपसि स्थिताः ॥ नमश्च तस्मै देवाय धर्मराजाय धीमते
atha yamalokasthapāpivarṇanam || nāciketa uvāca || kathyamānaṃ mayā viprāḥ śṛṇvantu tapasi sthitāḥ || namaś ca tasmai devāya dharmarājāya dhīmate
Ahora sigue la descripción de los malhechores en Yamaloka. Dijo Nāciketa: Que los sabios brāhmaṇas, firmes en la austeridad, escuchen lo que yo relato. Reverencia a ese divino Dharmarāja, el prudente.
Nāciketa
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":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"Sets up naraka/yamaloka pedagogy: hear the account of sinners in Yama’s realm as a dharmic warning and instruction.","karmic_consequence":"Hearing and heeding fosters restraint and merit; ignoring the warning risks repeating the sins that lead to Yamaloka suffering (implied)."}
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":"ethical deterrence + reverence to dharma","core_concept":"Dharma is an intelligent cosmic governance; contemplation of consequences (phala) supports self-restraint and tapas.","practical_application":"Listen to moral consequence narratives as sādhanā: let fear of adharma and reverence for justice guide daily choices."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Cosmology"]
Primary Rasa: bhayānaka
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Type: otherworldly realm
Related Themes: Transition into ‘Yamalokastha-pāpi-varṇana’ section; links back to Citragupta/Yama questions in 194.194.1–3
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Nāciketa begins a solemn discourse on sinners in Yamaloka, saluting Dharmarāja; ascetic brāhmaṇa-sages listen attentively.","item_prompts":["Nāciketa speaking","listening tapasvins","añjali to Dharmarāja","hinted vision of Yama’s realm (shadowed)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Nāciketa in teaching posture, sages in attentive rows; symbolic dark backdrop suggesting Yamaloka; strong linework and ritual solemnity.","tanjore_prompt":"Nāciketa with halo, gold accents; sages seated; a small inset of Dharmarāja iconography (mace/noose) framed in gold.","mysore_prompt":"Classical lecture scene with refined expressions; subdued dramatic lighting; minimal but clear otherworldly संकेत in background.","pahari_prompt":"Teacher-disciple tableau with lyrical spacing; cool, dusky tones hinting at Yamaloka; delicate detailing of ascetic attire."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"solemn, admonitory","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"vilambita","voice_tone":"deep, authoritative, with devotional softness on ‘namas’ and ‘dharmarājāya’"}
FAQs
It marks a new sub-section heading (pāpī-varṇana) and preserves the didactic convention of formally invoking the authority of Dharmarāja before ethical exposition.
Yamaloka is identified as a cosmological realm rather than a terrestrial location.
The passage frames ethical learning as disciplined listening and reflective instruction under the principle of dharma (moral order).
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.