Varaha Purana 199.34: Adhyaya 199, Shloka 34
Description of the Torments of Rebirth: The Asipatravana Punishment and the Mechanics of Karmic Retribution
Uttara Bhāga · Yama-loka / Naraka-varṇana (Ethical Consequences Narrative)
तत्र क्लिश्यन्ति ते पापास्तस्मिन्मध्ये सहस्रशः॥ जिघ्रन्तश्च तथा गन्धं मज्जन्तश्च सहस्रशः॥
tatra kliśyanti te pāpās tasmin madhye sahasraśaḥ || jighrantaś ca tathā gandhaṃ majjantaś ca sahasraśaḥ
tatra klishyanti te pApAstasminmadhye sahasrashaH || jighrantashcha tathA gandhaM majjantashcha sahasrashaH
वहाँ पापी लोग हज़ारों की तादाद में तकलीफ़ उठाते हैं। वो उस गंदगी के बीच में हैं। वो बदबू सूंघ रहे हैं और डूब रहे हैं, हज़ारों की तादाद में।
Sandhi Notes
- tasmin madhye corresponds to tasmin + madhye (no further split)
- jighrantaś ca = jighrantaḥ + ca
- majjantaś ca = majjantaḥ + ca
Varāha
Curious, morally concerned; receptive to instruction about consequences
What becomes of sinners after death, and how do their actions ripen into suffering?
Actions imprint consequences that mature as experiential suffering; sensory disgust and helplessness mirror inner moral corruption.
Adopt restraint (saṃyama), truthfulness, non-harm, and purificatory practices; use recollection of consequences as a deterrent to pāpa.
Varāha narrates punitive afterlife scenes to Bhū-devī as moral instruction.
Sin (pāpa) leads to hellish torment; cultivate dharma to avoid such states.
Adharmic acts culminate in mass suffering, foul sensory torment (stench), and repeated sinking/immersion; dharmic restraint averts it.
Varāha Purāṇa 199 (naraka-varṇana sequence)
FAQs
The verse reflects an established Purāṇic moral pedagogy where sensory details (stench, submergence) intensify the narrative of consequence.
No earthly geography is specified; the narrative space is an infernal/otherworldly setting within Yama’s jurisdiction.
It underscores accountability: actions classified as pāpa are portrayed as leading to sustained suffering.
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