Varaha Purana 200.52 — Adhyaya 200, Shloka 52
Description of the Forms of Infernal Torments
Naraka Yātanās
मुष्टिभिश्च कशाभिश्च व्यालैरङ्कगतैरपि ॥ तद्दृष्ट्वा तादृशं दुःखं ततो मोहं स गच्छति
muṣṭibhiś ca kaśābhiś ca vyālair aṅkagatair api || tad dṛṣṭvā tādṛśaṃ duḥkhaṃ tato mohaṃ sa gacchati
മുഷ്ടികളാലും ചാട്ടകളാലും, ശരീരത്തിൽ ചേർന്നു പിടിച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന സർപ്പങ്ങളാലും പീഡിതനായിരിക്കുന്നതിനെ കണ്ടു—അത്തരം ദുഃഖം ദർശിച്ച് അവൻ പിന്നെ മോഹത്തിലേക്ക് വീഴുന്നു.
Varāha (default framework)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"instruction_summary":"Cruel violence and torment inflicted on beings rebounds as experiential suffering in post-mortem states, leading to delusion and loss of discernment.","karmic_consequence":"Perpetrators undergo torment (beatings, whipping, serpent-affliction) and fall into मोह (bewilderment), impairing moral agency and prolonging bondage."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-phala (ethical causality)","core_concept":"Suffering is not random; it is the ripening of prior harmful action, culminating in मोह that further binds the jīva.","practical_application":"Cultivate ahiṃsā and self-restraint; avoid cruelty and coercion that harden the mind and generate future torment."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Cosmology"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: bhayānaka
Type: otherworldly realm
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 200.58.0 (repetition of karmic return); Varāha Purāṇa 200.62.0 (duration of preta/hell)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A tormented being is struck by fists and whips while serpents coil and cling to his limbs; his face shows stupefaction and भय as he collapses into मोह.","item_prompts":["whips (kaśā)","raised fists","coiling serpents clinging to torso/arms","dark infernal backdrop","expression of मोह (vacant, stunned eyes)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural palette with deep reds/ochres; stylized serpents and rhythmic whip arcs; exaggerated facial bhāvas showing karuṇa-bhayānaka.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore-style relief work emphasizing serpents and whip curves; gold highlights on ornaments of tormentors; central figure with matte dark ground.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting with fine linework on serpents’ scales; subdued infernal tones; delicate rendering of the victim’s bewildered gaze.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature with compact composition; narrative clarity—tormentors at sides, serpents wrapping the body; stark contrast to convey भय."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave, admonitory","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"low, weighty, compassionate yet warning"}
FAQs
It reflects the broader South Asian literary tradition of moral pedagogy through afterlife narratives, emphasizing psychological collapse (moha) alongside physical pain.
None; the verse describes a condition of punishment rather than a named tīrtha or region.
Unwholesome actions lead to severe distress and mental confusion; ethical restraint is implied as the corrective.
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.