Varaha Purana 202.27 — Adhyaya 202, Shloka 27
Description of Infernal Punishments and the Ripening of Karmic Consequences
गोग्हातको ह्ययं पापः कूटशाल्मलिमारुहेत् ॥ कृष्यते विविधैर्घोरै राक्षसैर्घोरदर्शनैः
goghātako hy ayaṃ pāpaḥ kūṭaśālmalim āruhet || kṛṣyate vividhair ghorai rākṣasair ghoradarśanaiḥ
ជនបាបនេះ អ្នកសម្លាប់គោ ត្រូវបង្ខំឲ្យឡើងដើមសាល្មលីដ៏មុតស្រួច; បន្ទាប់មក ត្រូវរាក្សសជាច្រើនប្រភេទ ដែលមានរូបរាងគួរភ័យខ្លាច អូសទាញទៅមក។
Varāha (default, instructor voice in dialogue framework)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"Gohatyā (cow-killing) is presented as a grave mahāpātaka leading to specific naraka-torments (śālmali-arohana and rākṣasa-dragging).","karmic_consequence":"Commission leads to hellish torture by terrifying rākṣasas; implied deterrence through vivid retribution."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-phalavāda (moral causality)","core_concept":"Actions (especially mahāpātakas) mature into proportionate experiential suffering in post-mortem realms.","practical_application":"Avoid violence toward protected beings (cow); cultivate ahiṃsā and dharmic livelihood to prevent such karmic maturation."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Karmic Retribution"]
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: otherworld/afterlife
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 202 (naraka/mahāpātaka sequence continuing in 202.32–35)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A condemned cow-killer is forced up a thorny śālmali tree while grotesque rākṣasas with fearsome faces pull and drag him, emphasizing pain and terror.","item_prompts":["sharp śālmali tree with spikes/thorns","terrified sinner climbing","multiple rākṣasas tugging with ropes/hooks","dark infernal landscape","blood/scratches (suggested, not gratuitous)","smoke/ash atmosphere"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: flat yet dynamic infernal scene; rākṣasas in bold reds/greens with stylized eyes; śālmali rendered as patterned thorn-tree; strong contour lines and rhythmic composition.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central victim and looming rākṣasas with gold-leaf accents on ornaments/weapons; dark lacquered background; stylized flames framing the naraka setting.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined linework; controlled horror—expressive faces, muted infernal palette; detailed bark/thorns; subtle shading to show dragging motion.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative vignette with rolling dark hills; expressive, slightly whimsical rākṣasas; emphasis on storytelling clarity over gore; cool-night palette with red accents."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave, admonitory","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"stern, weighty, warning"}
FAQs
It preserves a conventional Purāṇic repertoire of punitive imagery (trees, dragging by rākṣasas) used to communicate moral causality and social prohibitions.
No specific place-name is given; the imagery is otherworldly rather than geographic.
The verse frames harm to protected animals (here, the cow) as a grave ethical breach with severe consequences.
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