Varaha Purana 188.41: Adhyaya 188, Shloka 41
Section on the Origin and Procedure of Piṇḍa-Rites and Śrāddha: Rules of Mourning Impurity
Aśauca
भस्मवर्षं ततो घोरमहोरात्रेण माधवि ॥ पादौ च ते न दह्येतां यमस्य विषयं गते ॥ तमोऽन्धकारविषमं दुर्गमं घोरदर्शनम् ॥
bhasma-varṣaṃ tato ghoraṃ ahorātreṇa mādhavi || pādau ca te na dahyetāṃ yamasya viṣayaṃ gate || tamo'ndhakāra-viṣamaṃ durgamaṃ ghora-darśanam ||
माधवी, एक दिन और रात में राख बरसी थी। बहुत डरावना था। जब कोई यमराज के इलाके में जाता है, उसके पैर ना जलें। वहाँ अंधेरा बहुत है, रास्ता भी मुश्किल है, देखने में भी डर लगता है।
Varāha (default dialogue framework)
FAQs
It documents a vivid Purāṇic portrayal of the post-mortem journey, which influenced later ritual prescriptions and vernacular afterlife literature.
No earthly location is given; ‘Yama’s domain’ is a cosmological realm rather than a mapped site.
It underscores the perceived need for protective ritual measures and charitable acts that symbolically reduce suffering on the post-mortem path.
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