Varaha Purana 194.8: Adhyaya 194, Shloka 8
The Return of Naciketas from Yama’s Abode: Inquiry into Death, Karma, and Dharmic Release
Uttara Bhāga · Narrative: Questions about diseases, extraordinary sights, and the ascetic’s satisfaction
कच्चित्ते व्याधयो घोरा नान्वगच्छन्यमालये ॥ किमपूर्वं त्वया दृष्टं कच्चित्तुष्टो महातपाः
kaccitte vyādhayo ghorā nānvagacchanyamālaye || kimapūrvaṃ tvayā dṛṣṭaṃ kaccittuṣṭo mahātapāḥ
kachchitte vyAdhayo ghorA nAnvagachChanyamAlaye || kimapUrvaM tvayA dRRiShTaM kachchittuShTo mahAtapAH
यमराज के यहाँ तुम्हे कोई बीमारी तो नहीं पकड़ी? वहाँ तुमने क्या नया देखा? वो बड़े तपस्वी रिशी खुश तो थे ना?
Sandhi Notes
- कच्चित्ते → कच्चित् + ते
- नान्वगच्छन् → न + अन्वगच्छन्
- किमपूर्वम् → किम् + अपूर्वम्
- कच्चित्तुष्टः → कच्चित् + तुष्टः
Tapasvī father (questioning the son)
Did dreadful diseases afflict you in Yama’s abode, what unprecedented sight did you witness there, and was the great ascetic (authority) satisfied with you?
Suffering (including disease) is imagined as a karmic consequence even beyond death; the afterlife is a domain of ethical accounting.
Cultivate dharma and restraint so that one’s passage after death is not marked by torment; reflect on mortality to strengthen ethical conduct.
Varāha Purāṇa 194 (Yamaloka-return narrative sequence)
FAQs
It shows how Purāṇic storytelling integrates bodily suffering motifs (vyādhi) into moral-cosmological journeys, reflecting premodern conceptions of affliction and consequence.
Only the mythic “Yama’s abode” is referenced; no earthly sacred site is named.
The verse reinforces the expectation that moral standing influences the hardships encountered, and it frames testimony (“what did you see?”) as ethically instructive.
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