Varaha Purana 125.71: Adhyaya 125, Shloka 71
The Cycle of Māyā
Illusory Causation and Perceptual Reversal
योऽहं निषादगर्भेऽस्मिन्पीडास्ति मलसङ्कुले ॥ अस्थ्नां त्रिशतसङ्कीर्णे नवद्वाराभिसंवृते ॥
yo'haṁ niṣāda-garbhe'smin pīḍāsti mala-saṅkule || asthnāṁ triśata-saṅkīrṇe nava-dvārābhisaṁvṛte ||
“ഞാൻ ഈ നിഷാദഗർഭത്തിൽ ഉള്ളവൻ; മലസങ്കുലമായ ഈ അവസ്ഥയിൽ പീഡിതനാണ്— മൂന്നു നൂറ് അസ്ഥികളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞ ദേഹത്തിൽ, ഒൻപത് ദ്വാരങ്ങളാൽ ആവൃതമായതിൽ।”
Brāhmaṇa (internal lament rendered in narrative)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"observer","key_question":"Why am I confined in such a painful, impure embodiment—this Niṣāda womb and this nine-gated body?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"The ‘nine-gated city’ frames the body as a temporary enclosure (pura) for the jīva; liberation requires turning from the gates (sense-objects) to the indwelling Lord—an implicit contrast to Varāha as the rescuer from the ‘pit’ of saṃsāra.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Negative mirror of yajña: instead of sacred ‘pura’ of ritual order, the body is a malasaṅkula enclosure; the teaching pushes toward inner yajña (self-discipline) rather than bodily identification.","vedantic_connection":"Echoes the purī-śarīra doctrine (Kaṭha/Śvetāśvatara-style imagery; also Gītā’s ‘nava-dvāre pure dehī’): the self is distinct from the body and its apertures."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"vairagya","core_concept":"Deha is a constrained, impure ‘city’; the jīva’s dignity lies in disidentification and seeking release.","practical_application":"Cultivate sense-restraint, remembrance of the Self/Lord, and detachment from bodily pride and social status."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Philosophy (body as confinement)","Cultural Anthropology"]
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: interior metaphysical geography
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 125.82-83 (further bibhatsa imagery; conclusion toward endurance/insight)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A symbolic ‘city-body’: an oval fortress with nine gates, inside which a small jīva-figure sits cramped; bones suggested as pale lattice; the word ‘pura’ implied through architectural motifs.","item_prompts":["nine gates (eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, etc. symbolically)","bone-lattice (three hundred bones) as white framework","small seated jīva/fetus figure","dark enclosing womb-oval","sense of pressure and impurity (abstract)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Architectural body-city iconography with nine stylized doorways; bold lines; jīva as small figure with expressive eyes; minimal anatomical realism.","tanjore_prompt":"Gold-leaf highlights on the nine gates/doorframes; central jīva figure with devotional aura; ornamental borders framing the ‘pura’.","mysore_prompt":"Refined palace-like ‘pura’ blended with organic oval; soft gradients; emphasis on metaphor over gore; contemplative mood.","pahari_prompt":"Miniature ‘fortress-oval’ with nine tiny doors; delicate bone patterns; small figure inside; muted earth tones and fine detailing."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"austere-dispassionate","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"low, weighty, emphasizing ‘malasaṅkule’ and ‘nava-dvāra’ with didactic clarity"}
FAQs
It preserves a classical South Asian body-metaphor (nine gates) and traditional anatomical counting, valuable for comparative studies of Sanskrit philosophical anthropology.
No geographic location is specified; the passage is introspective and anatomical-metaphorical.
Detachment and moral vigilance are encouraged by emphasizing the body’s vulnerability and impurity as a prompt for ethical self-discipline.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.