Varaha Purana 198.48: Adhyaya 198, Shloka 48
Description of the Torments within the Cycle of Rebirth: Hymn to Yama and the Introduction to Citragupta’s Administration
Uttara Bhāga · Naraka-varṇana (Descriptions of punitive realms)
वेदनार्तास्तु वेगेन शीघ्रं शाखा उपारुहन् ॥ तत्र ते निहता घोरा राक्षसाः पिशिताशनाः ॥
vedanārttās tu vegena śīghraṃ śākhā upāruhan || tatra te nihatā ghorā rākṣasāḥ piśitāśanāḥ ||
vedanArttAstu vegena shIghraM shAkhA upAruhan || tatra te nihatA ghorA rAkShasAH pishitAshanAH
दर्द से तड़प के वो जल्दी-जल्दी डालों पर चढ़ गए। वहाँ वो डरावने राक्षस जो मास खाते थे, मर गए।
Sandhi Notes
- वेदनार्ताः = वेदना-आर्ताः
- पिशिताशनाः = पिशित-आशनाः
Varāha
Anxious curiosity (seeking clarity on punishments)
How do the afflicted attempt escape, and what further fate meets them in those regions?
Karma, once matured, cannot be outrun; reactive struggle only intensifies suffering.
Preventive ethics: avoid causes rather than seeking escape after consequences arise; cultivate repentance and restraint early.
Attempted flight from karmic pain is futile; in naraka the violent, flesh-eating agents execute the consequence.
Pain drives frantic escape, yet the dreadful rākṣasas slay—signifying inescapability of ripened karma.
Varāha Purāṇa 198.52, 198.54-56 (same sequence)
FAQs
The verse exemplifies Purāṇic didactic narration where suffering is described in kinetic detail to communicate ethical causality.
None; it depicts an infernal/punitive environment rather than a named place.
Pain and violent retribution are presented as narrative consequences, underscoring accountability for harmful conduct.
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