Varaha Purana 200.2 — Adhyaya 200, Shloka 2
Description of the Forms of Infernal Torments
Naraka Yātanās
अन्धकारश्च नरकोऽन्धकारवरस्तथा ॥ अष्टावेतॆ तु नरकाः पच्यन्ते यत्र पापिनः ॥
andhakāraś ca narako 'ndhakāravaras tathā || aṣṭāv ete tu narakāḥ pacyante yatra pāpinaḥ ||
അന്ധകാരം എന്ന നരകമുണ്ട്; അതുപോലെ അന്ധകാരവരം (അതിഘോര അന്ധകാരം) എന്നും ഉണ്ട്. ഇവ തന്നെയാണ് എട്ട് നരകങ്ങൾ; അവിടെ പാപികൾ ദണ്ഡയാതനയിൽ ‘വേവുന്നു’.
Ṛṣiputra
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"observer; ethically alert, contemplating consequences of adharma","key_question":"What are the principal narakas (hell-realms) and what is their function as punitive destinations for pāpinas?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"narakas","instruction_summary":"Adharma leads to post-mortem punitive suffering in designated narakas; the teaching functions as deterrence and ethical instruction.","karmic_consequence":"Pāpa results in being 'cooked' (pacyante) in hell-realms; dharmic restraint avoids such destinations."}
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-phala / ethical causality","core_concept":"Actions bear inevitable results; pāpa matures into duḥkha in specific experiential realms.","practical_application":"Cultivate restraint (yama-niyama), truthfulness, non-injury, and charity to reduce pāpa and avoid naraka-gati."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: otherworld/underworld realm
Related Themes: VP 200.3.0-200.6.0 (gradation and nature of suffering)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A stark vision of named hells—Andhakāra and Andhakāravara—where sinners undergo 'cooking' in oppressive darkness.","item_prompts":["two labeled realms: Andhakāra, Andhakāravara","smoke and gloom","cauldrons/fiery pits suggested but subdued by darkness","pretas/pāpinas in distress","guard-like figures (yamadūtas) implied"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural palette with deep blacks/indigos; stylized yamadūtas and suffering pretas; minimal flames, emphasis on darkness as substance.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore composition with gold borders framing a dark central panel; symbolic cauldron and inscriptions of the two naraka names; high-contrast figures.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore-style fine linework: layered shadows, restrained fire motifs, expressive faces of pretas; narrative clarity with labels.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature: compact hell-scene in a night-black landscape; rhythmic repetition of figures to suggest 'eight hells'; delicate detailing of smoke."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave, admonitory","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"low, weighty, didactic"}
FAQs
It provides a structured ‘eightfold’ list of narakas, showing how Purāṇic texts systematize moral pedagogy through cosmological taxonomy.
No earthly location is specified; the verse refers to infernal realms as part of Purāṇic cosmology.
Actions characterized as pāpa are presented as leading to suffering; the verse functions as a moral caution within a karmic framework.
Ask anything about this verse
A free Google sign-in 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 audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.