Varaha Purana 195.23: Adhyaya 195, Shloka 23
Description of Sinners Abiding in Yama’s Realm
Catalog of Transgressions and the Logic of Retribution
Uttara Bhāga · Inquiry about Vaitaraṇī and Other Naraka Motifs
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
na gachChanti cha ye tatra dAnena nigamena cha || vaitaraNyAshcha yadrUpaM kiMtoyaM cha vahatyasau
अब सवाल यह है कि कौन लोग वहाँ नहीं जाते। दान करने से और वेद के नियम फॉलो करने से शायद बच जाते हैं। वैतरणी नदी कैसी है और उसमें कौनसा पानी बहता है, यह भी समझो।
Sandhi Notes
- वैतरण्याश्च = वैतरण्याः + च
- यद्रूपं = यत् + रूपम्
- वहत्यसौ = वहति + असौ
Pṛthivī
Curious, concerned
195.25.0; 195.27.0
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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