Varaha Purana 195.30: Adhyaya 195, Shloka 30
Description of Sinners Abiding in Yama’s Realm
Catalog of Transgressions and the Logic of Retribution
Uttara Bhāga · Ethical Instruction (Failure to Understand the Highest Good)
बोद्धव्यं नावबुध्यन्ते गुणानां तु गुणोत्तरम् ॥ हाहाभूताश्च चिन्तार्त्ताः सर्वदोषसमन्विताः ॥
boddhavyaṁ nāvabudhyante guṇānāṁ tu guṇottaram || hāhābhūtāś ca cintārttāḥ sarvadoṣasamanvitāḥ
boddhavyaM nAvabudhyante guNAnAM tu guNottaram || hAhAbhUtAshcha chiMtArttAH sarvadoShasamanvitAH
वो लोग वो चीज़ समझ नहीं पाते जो समझनी चाहिए। बस चिंता में डूब के रहते हैं। हा-हा करते हैं, दुखी होते हैं, उनके अंदर हर तरह की बुरी बात आ जाती है।
Sandhi Notes
- नावबुध्यन्ते → न अवबुध्यन्ते
- गुणोत्तरम् → गुण-उत्तरम्
- हाहाभूताः → हाहा-भूताः
- चिन्तार्त्ताः → चिन्ता-आर्त्ताः
- सर्वदोषसमन्विताः → सर्व-दोष-समन्विताः
Vaiśampāyana
Suffering is rooted in misapprehension: not grasping the highest good beyond guṇas produces anxiety and moral deterioration.
Shift aspiration from guṇa-based achievements to śreyas: cultivate sattva through dharma, then transcend guṇa-identification via bhakti/jñāna and steady mind (citta-śuddhi).
The verse contrasts guṇa-bound cognition with a transcendent ‘beyond-guṇa’ excellence, aligning with the purāṇic move from ritual/ethical purification to realization of the highest principle.
Guṇātīta ideal (cf. Gītā) and the notion of para-śreyas: the highest excellence is not merely a superior guṇa but a transcendence of guṇa-conditioned life.
One must understand the ‘excellence beyond qualities’ (guṇātīta/guṇottara); failure leads to anxiety, lamentation, and accumulation of faults.
Non-comprehension of the higher good results in mental torment (cintā), lamentation (hāhā), and doṣa-saṃyoga, reinforcing bondage and suffering.
195.31.0 (māyā and suffering after pāpa); 196.1.0 (Dharmarāja-pura section as consequence-space)
FAQs
It echoes a widespread Sanskrit ethical theme: without insight into the highest aim, one remains trapped in anxiety and moral defects—an instructional motif across Purāṇic and śāstric texts.
No geographic location is mentioned.
That failure to grasp the highest excellence leads to distress and the accumulation of faults.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple 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 word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
