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
Et quels sont ceux qui n’y vont pas, par les dons et par les Nigamas, les prescriptions védiques ? Et quelle est la forme de la Vaitaraṇī, et quelle sorte d’eau charrie-t-elle ?
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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