Varaha Purana 136.10 — Adhyaya 136, Shloka 10
A Sūtra-like Manual of Expiations for Ritual Transgressions
पिशाचो जायते तत्र वर्षाणि नव पञ्च च ॥ ततस्तु कुणपोच्छिष्टं त्रिंशद्वर्षाणि खादति ॥
piśāco jāyate tatra varṣāṇi nava pañca ca || tatastu kuṇapocchiṣṭaṃ triṃśadvarṣāṇi khādati ||
Di sana seseorang lahir sebagai piśāca selama sembilan dan lima tahun (empat belas tahun); kemudian ia memakan sisa-sisa mayat selama tiga puluh tahun.
Unspecified (dialogue frame suggests Varāha addressing Pṛthivī, but not explicit in this verse)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"None","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"Severe post-mortem degradation is described as the karmic result of grave ritual/ethical transgression associated with impurity and the dead.","karmic_consequence":"Birth as a piśāca for fourteen years, followed by thirty years subsisting on corpse-remnants."}
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-and-gati (post-mortem destiny)","core_concept":"Actions aligned with tamas/impurity precipitate a corresponding mode of existence (piśācatva) and degraded sustenance.","practical_application":"Maintain śauca (purity), avoid ucchiṣṭa/śava-saṃsparśa transgressions, and follow prescribed expiations when pollution occurs."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Karmic Consequence","Ritual Pollution Concepts"]
Primary Rasa: bībhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayānaka
Type: liminal/impure space (antyeṣṭi domain)
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 136.12–15 (Dharaṇī’s follow-up questions on śmaśāna and Śiva’s praise)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A stark afterlife tableau: a human soul fallen into piśāca-form, haunting a cremation ground, then feeding on corpse-remnants over long years.","item_prompts":["cremation ground with pyres/ashes","gaunt piśāca figure","corpse-remnants (kuṇapa-ucchiṣṭa)","dark sky, jackals/crows","time-cycle motif (years passing)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural palette with dramatic chiaroscuro: śmaśāna at night, stylized flames and ash mounds, piśāca rendered with elongated eyes and angular limbs, minimal gore, strong narrative clarity.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore-style central piśāca figure framed by ornate borders; gold-leaf used for fire-glow and ash highlights; symbolic rather than graphic depiction of corpse-remnants.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting refinement: subdued night tones, delicate linework for pyres and ash, expressive but restrained piśāca visage, emphasis on moral allegory.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature: compact cremation-ground vignette with rolling hills, stylized trees, small pyres, a lone piśāca near ash heaps; cool blues and greys with warm fire accents."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"austere, admonitory, grave","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"low, steady, warning"}
FAQs
It documents Purāṇic representations of post-mortem suffering using culturally legible images (piśāca existence, corpse-remnant eating), informing studies of Indic moral pedagogy.
No geographic site is named; 'tatra' is context-dependent on surrounding narrative.
Transgression is portrayed as leading to degrading states of existence, emphasizing restraint and ethical conduct.
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