Varaha Purana 81.31: Adhyaya 81, Shloka 31
Description of the Divine Mountain Abodes: Meru, Devakūṭa, and Kailāsa
सुरराक्षसाः पञ्चकूटे दानवाः शतशृङ्गे यक्षाणां पुरशतम् ।
surarākṣasāḥ pañcakūṭe dānavāḥ śataśṛṅge yakṣāṇāṁ puraśatam
പഞ്ചകൂടത്തിൽ സുരരും രാക്ഷസരും; ശതശൃംഗത്തിൽ ദാനവരും; യക്ഷന്മാർക്കായി നൂറ് നഗരങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ട്।
Varāha
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"curious, mentally mapping (multiple mountains and inhabitants)","key_question":"None (implicit: which beings dwell on which mountains, and how many cities?)"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"cosmic-balance","core_concept":"Opposing forces (sura–rākṣasa, etc.) coexist within a larger ordered cosmos; plurality is contained by cosmic law.","practical_application":"Hold inner opposites in discipline: channel ‘sura’ tendencies (clarity) and restrain ‘rākṣasa/dānava’ tendencies (excess) through steady practice and ethical restraint."}
Subject Matter: ["Geography","Cosmology","Heritage Sites"]
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: vira
Type: mountain ranges / fortified settlements in puranic cosmography
Related Themes: Varaha Purana 81 (mountain-by-mountain listings)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Two great mountains—Pañcakūṭa (five-peaked) and Śataśṛṅga (hundred-peaked)—each populated by distinct mythic races; in the distance, a spread of Yakṣa cities.","item_prompts":["five-peaked mountain silhouette","many-peaked ridge line","Suras with luminous aura","Rākṣasas with fierce forms","Dānavas as powerful giants","Yakṣa cityscape repeated to suggest ‘hundred cities’"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: layered mountains with stylized peaks; contrasting color codes—bright for Suras, darker reds for Rākṣasas, deep tones for Dānavas; Yakṣa cities as patterned architecture bands.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: mountains as ornate backplates; gold-leaf highlights on divine figures; repeated miniature city icons for Yakṣas.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: narrative panorama with careful separation of groups; refined detailing of costumes and weapons; atmospheric depth for distant cities.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: sweeping Himalayan-like ridges; small clustered forts; dynamic figures on slopes; delicate clouds and trees."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"expansive, energetic catalogue","suggested_raga":"Desh","pace":"medium-fast","voice_tone":"projected, rhythmic to carry enumerations"}
FAQs
It demonstrates Purāṇic geographic cataloguing by associating distinct classes of beings with specific mountains and settlement counts.
Two locations are explicitly named: Pañcakūṭa and Śataśṛṅga, both framed as mountainous sites; the 'hundred cities' of the Yakṣas are mentioned without a specific toponym in this line.
The verse primarily classifies and locates communities; indirectly, it supports the idea of a shared, multi-inhabitant world requiring careful, non-reductive documentation.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
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 word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.