Varaha Purana 202.8: Adhyaya 202, Shloka 8

Description of Infernal Punishments and the Ripening of Karmic Consequences

Devanagari script

पापकर्मायमत्यर्थं सर्वतीर्थविनाशकः ॥ तस्य प्रदीप्तः कीलोऽयं वह्नितप्तोऽतिदुःस्पृशः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 202.8

Transliteration

pāpakarmāyam atyarthaṃ sarvatīrthavināśakaḥ || tasya pradīptaḥ kīlo'yaṃ vahnitapto'tiduḥspṛśaḥ ||

Translation

ഇവൻ അത്യന്തം പാപകർമ്മങ്ങളിൽ ലീനനായവൻ, സർവ്വതീർത്ഥങ്ങളെയും നശിപ്പിക്കുന്നവനെന്നപോലെ. അവനുവേണ്ടി ഈ ജ്വലിക്കുന്ന കീൽ—അഗ്നിയിൽ തപ്തമായത്, സ്പർശിക്കാൻ അതിദുഃഖകരം।

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Word by Word

• pāpa-karmā: sinful-deeded
• pāpa-karmā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); बहुव्रीहि (‘whose deeds are sinful’)

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• atyartham: excessively
• atyartham: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atyartha (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: परिमाण/अतिशय-वाचक-अव्यय (adverb: exceedingly)

• sarva-tīrtha-vināśakaḥ: destroyer of all tīrthas
• sarva-tīrtha-vināśakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + vināśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘destroyer of all sacred places/merits’)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (genitive/6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• pradīptaḥ: blazing
• pradīptaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pradīpta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) used adjectivally

• kīlaḥ: spike/nail
• kīlaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kīla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vahni-taptaḥ: fire-heated
• vahni-taptaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक) + tapta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘heated by fire’)

• ati-duḥspṛśaḥ: extremely untouchable/hard to touch
• ati-duḥspṛśaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (अव्यय) + duḥspṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (‘exceedingly’ + ‘hard to touch’)

Speaker

Varāha (default, instructor voice in Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue framework)

Tags

• Purāṇic Literature
• Tīrtha Discourse
• Afterlife Narratives
• Moral Didacticism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It shows how tīrtha (pilgrimage/merit institutions) functioned as a moral-cultural category; harming such institutions is rhetorically framed as socially destructive.

Which geographic location is identified?

No single location is named; “tīrtha” is used generically to denote sacred places/institutions.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Undermining communal sacred institutions and persistent wrongdoing are portrayed as gravely harmful, warranting severe consequences in the narrative framework.