Varaha Purana 200.2: Adhyaya 200, Shloka 2

Description of the Forms of Infernal Torments

Naraka Yātanās

Uttara Bhāga · Narakayātanā-varṇana (Descriptions of Hellish Torments)

Devanagari script

अन्धकारश्च नरकोऽन्धकारवरस्तथा ॥ अष्टावेतॆ तु नरकाः पच्यन्ते यत्र पापिनः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 200.2

Transliteration

andhakāraś ca narako 'ndhakāravaras tathā || aṣṭāv ete tu narakāḥ pacyante yatra pāpinaḥ ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

फिर अंधकार है, जिसे लोग अंधेरा कहते हैं। और अंधकारवर भी है, जो इससे भी बड़ा अंधेरा है। आठ नरक हो गए। जहाँ पापी लोग पकाए जाते हैं, मतलब उनकी सज़ा होती है।

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Word by Word

• andhakāraḥ: (hell called) Andhakāra (darkness)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता) / Predicate-noun (विशेष्य)
• Root: andhakāra (प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction
• Role: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• narakaḥ: (hell called) Naraka
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता) / Predicate-noun (विशेष्य)
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)

• andhakāra-varaḥ: (hell called) Andhakāravara
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; tatpuruṣa—‘andhakārasya varaḥ’ (best/foremost darkness) used as name
• Role: Karta (कर्ता) / Predicate-noun (विशेष्य)
• Root: andhakāra (प्रातिपदिक) + vara (प्रातिपदिक)

• tathā: likewise; also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya, adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) meaning ‘likewise’
• Role: Samuccaya/Anvaya (अन्वय)
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)

• aṣṭau: eight
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural (बहुवचन); numeral adjective (संख्यावाचक) qualifying narakāḥ
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: aṣṭan (प्रातिपदिक)

• ete: these
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural; demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)

• tu: but; indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya, particle (निपात), contrast/emphasis
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• narakāḥ: hells
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)

• pacyante: are tormented; are cooked
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person, Plural; Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद); passive sense (कर्मणि प्रयोग) ‘are cooked/tormented’
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: pac (धातु)

• yatra: where
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya, relative adverb (सम्बन्धबोधक) ‘where’
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)

• pāpinaḥ: sinners
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural; agent noun meaning ‘sinners’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• narako 'ndhakāravaras → narakaḥ + andhakāra-varaḥ
• andhakāraś ca → andhakāraḥ + ca

Speaker and setting

Bhayanaka and Bibhatsa rasaSetting: Otherworld/underworld realm

Speaker

Ṛṣiputra

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Observer; ethically alert, contemplating consequences of adharma

What she asks

What are the principal narakas (hell-realms) and what is their function as punitive destinations for pāpinas?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Karma-phala / ethical causality

Subjects

CosmologyEthics

Core idea

Actions bear inevitable results; pāpa matures into duḥkha in specific experiential realms.

In practice

Cultivate restraint (yama-niyama), truthfulness, non-injury, and charity to reduce pāpa and avoid naraka-gati.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Afterlife Topography
• Sanskrit Lexicography

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It provides a structured ‘eightfold’ list of narakas, showing how Purāṇic texts systematize moral pedagogy through cosmological taxonomy.

Which geographic location is identified?

No earthly location is specified; the verse refers to infernal realms as part of Purāṇic cosmology.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Actions characterized as pāpa are presented as leading to suffering; the verse functions as a moral caution within a karmic framework.