Varaha Purana 197.8: Adhyaya 197, Shloka 8

The Division of the Gates of Yama’s City and the Description of the Tribunal Hall

Uttara Bhāga · Catalog of Wrongdoers (Ghātaka etc.)

Devanagari script

पापानां चैव सर्वेषां ये चान्ये घातकारकाः ॥ औदुम्बरमवीचीकमुच्चावचमनःकृतम् ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 197.8

Transliteration

pāpānāṃ caiva sarveṣāṃ ye cānye ghāta-kārakāḥ || audumbaram avīcīkam uccāvaca-manaḥ-kṛtam ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

और सारे पापियों के लिए, और जो लोग जान लेते हैं, औदुम्बर और अवीची नाम की जगह है। यह जगह दिमाग घुमा देती है।

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Word by Word

• पापानाम्: of sinners / of sins
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; Genitive plural
• Role: सम्बन्ध (Genitive)
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)
• Role: समुच्चय (Coordination)
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• एव: indeed / just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)
• Role: अवधारण (Emphasis)
• Root: एव (अव्यय)

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; Genitive plural
• Role: सम्बन्ध (Genitive)
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)

• ये: who
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; relative pronoun
• Role: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction
• Role: समुच्चय (Coordination)
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• अन्ये: others
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; used substantively
• Role: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)

• घातकारकाः: killers / perpetrators of violence
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘those who cause killing/injury’
• Role: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Root: घात + कारक (प्रातिपदिक)

• औदुम्बरम्: Udumbara-related / of udumbara (fig)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective (possibly of a place/region)
• Role: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa)
• Root: औदुम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)

• अवीचीकम्: Avīcīka (name/epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective/name-like
• Role: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa)
• Root: अवीचीक (प्रातिपदिक)

• उच्चावचमनःकृतम्: mentally disturbed by ups and downs
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘made/affected in mind by highs and lows’; कृत = PPP of √कृ
• Role: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa)
• Root: उच्च + अवच + मनस् + कृत (कृदन्त)

Sandhi Notes

• चैव → च एव
• चान्ये → च अन्ये. समासाः: घात-कारकाः, उच्च-अवच-मनः-कृतम् (तत्पुरुष)

Speaker and setting

Bhayanaka and Bibhatsa rasaSetting: Hell-realms / punitive topography

Speaker

Ṛṣiputra

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Moral psychology / karmic retribution

Subjects

CosmologyEthics

Core idea

Harmful acts fracture the mind; punishment mirrors the perpetrator’s inner chaos (uccāvaca-manaskṛta).

In practice

Practice non-violence, restraint, and mental purification; avoid actions that habituate cruelty and confusion.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Naraka (Hell) Topography
• Moral Psychology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves named punitive regions (e.g., Avīcī) and frames them as psychologically disorienting, relevant to comparative studies of naraka-lists across Purāṇas.

Which geographic location is identified?

Audumbara and Avīcī are named as cosmological/punitive locales rather than verifiable terrestrial geography in this excerpt.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Violence and sinful conduct are linked to severe punitive realms; the verse emphasizes consequence and moral accountability.