Varaha Purana 161.3: Adhyaya 161, Shloka 3
The Efficacy of the Sacred Forests: The Merit of Pilgrimage to Mathurā’s Twelve Groves
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ सर्वधर्मविहीनानां पुरुषाणां दुरात्मनाम् ॥ नरकार्त्तिहरादेवी मथुरा पापघातिनी ॥
śrīvarāha uvāca || sarvadharmavihīnānāṃ puruṣāṇāṃ durātmanām || narakārttiharā devī mathurā pāpaghātinī ||
ശ്രീവരാഹൻ പറഞ്ഞു—സർവ്വധർമ്മവിഹീനരും ദുഷ്ടാത്മാക്കളുമായ പുരുഷന്മാർക്കായി ദേവി മഥുര നരകവേദന നീക്കുകയും പാപം നശിപ്പിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നു।
Varāha
FAQs
It exemplifies Purāṇic sacred-geography discourse, presenting Mathurā as a culturally valorized site whose visit is framed as ethically transformative.
Mathurā—classically the Yamunā-region city in North India, continuously identified with modern Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).
Even those described as morally deficient are encouraged toward reform through association with a heritage landscape portrayed as purifying.
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