Varaha Purana 207.21: Adhyaya 207, Shloka 21
Section on the ‘Person’ who Entices Beings within the Cycle of Rebirth
न गच्छन्ति तु तं देशं पापिष्ठं तमसावृतम् ॥ यातनास्थानसंपूर्णं हाहाकारभयाकुलम् ॥
na gacchanti tu taṃ deśaṃ pāpiṣṭhaṃ tamasāvṛtam || yātanāsthānasaṃpūrṇaṃ hāhākārabhayākulam ||
അവർ ആ ദേശത്തിലേക്കു പോകുകയില്ല; അതി പാപമയവും തമസ്സാൽ മൂടപ്പെട്ടതുമായ, യാതനാസ്ഥാനങ്ങളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞതും ഹാഹാകാരഭയങ്ങളാൽ വ്യാകുലവുമായ ആ പ്രദേശത്തിലേക്കു.
Yama
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","key_question":"None (graphic characterization of the avoided region)."}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"instruction_summary":"Naraka is portrayed as a dark, sin-saturated realm of torments and terror; the prior virtues are presented as the means to avoid it.","karmic_consequence":"Sin leads to entry into a fear-filled torture-region; virtue prevents that destination (explicitly tied to preceding verses)."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"moral psychology / consequence ethics","core_concept":"Vivid contemplation of consequences (phala-smṛti) strengthens resolve toward restraint and compassion.","practical_application":"Use the imagery as a meditative deterrent: before harmful action, recall the ‘tamasāvṛta’ outcome and choose dharma."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: bhayānaka
Secondary Rasa: karuṇa
Type: infernal realm
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 207.19–22 (who does not go there)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A hellish landscape: thick darkness, pits and instruments of torment, crowds crying ‘hā hā’, faces contorted in fear—contrasted by an implied boundary that the virtuous do not cross.","item_prompts":["blackened sky and smoky haze","jagged ground with torture-pits (yātanā-sthāna)","figures with raised arms crying in anguish","Yama’s distant silhouette as judge","chains/nooses as symbolic implements"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized dark palette with dramatic reds/blacks; rhythmic arrangement of suffering figures; Yama as stern icon at edge, maintaining compositional order.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: less naturalistic, iconic infernal paneling; gold used sparingly as ominous contrast; strong outlines and hierarchical scale with Yama overseeing.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: detailed chiaroscuro-like shading for darkness; expressive faces; controlled depiction of fear without excess gore.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative infernal scene with simplified torment motifs; emphasis on emotional expression and atmospheric gloom."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave, cautionary, intense","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"deep, resonant, ominous"}
FAQs
It exemplifies Purāṇic rhetorical imagery used to communicate ethical consequences through vivid cosmological description.
No earthly location; ‘deśa’ here functions as a cosmological/imagined punitive region.
The verse reinforces avoidance of grave wrongdoing by contrasting it with an imagined realm characterized by darkness, fear, and torment.
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