Varaha Purana 199.6 — Adhyaya 199, Shloka 6

Description of the Torments of Rebirth: The Asipatravana Punishment and the Mechanics of Karmic Retribution

Devanagari script

आलोके च प्रदर्श्यन्ते वृक्षाश्च भुवनानि च ॥ आयान्ति दह्यमानेषु पृष्ठपादोदरेषु च

Transliteration

āloke ca pradarśyante vṛkṣāś ca bhuvanāni ca || āyānti dahyamāneṣu pṛṣṭhapādodareṣu ca

Translation

ஒளியில் மரங்களும் உலகங்களும் காட்டப்படுகின்றன; மேலும் அவர்களின் முதுகு, கால்கள், வயிறு எரிந்துகொண்டிருக்க, அவர்கள் வருகின்றனர்.

Word by Word

• āloke: in the light/at the sight
• āloke: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• pradarśyante: are shown/appear
• pradarśyante: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + dṛś (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन); passive sense ‘are shown/appear’

• vṛkṣāḥ: trees
• vṛkṣāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• bhuvanāni: worlds/regions
• bhuvanāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• āyānti: they come/approach
• āyānti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + yā (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन); with upasarga 'ā-'

• dahyamāneṣu: in/among (those) being burned
• dahyamāneṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dah (धातु)
• Form: Present passive participle (शानच्/वर्तमानकृदन्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Plural (बहुवचन)

• pṛṣṭha-pāda-udareṣu: on the backs, feet, and bellies
• pṛṣṭha-pāda-udareṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + udara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva (द्वन्द्व) enumerative ‘backs, feet, and bellies’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

Speaker

Varāha

Subject Matter

Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Ethics"]

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Afterlife Imagery
• Sanskrit Semantics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

The verse uses cosmological terms (bhuvanāni) alongside punitive bodily imagery, characteristic of Purāṇic didactic storytelling that links the moral and the cosmic.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific earthly location is identified; “worlds/regions” (bhuvanāni) is cosmological rather than geographic.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The narrative reinforces moral causality by depicting suffering as a consequence within an ordered cosmos.