Varaha Purana 198.36 — Adhyaya 198, Shloka 36
Description of the Torments within the Cycle of Rebirth: Hymn to Yama and the Introduction to Citragupta’s Administration
बन्धयन्ति महाकाया निर्दहन्ति महाबलाः ॥ पाटयन्ति प्रहारैश्च ताडयन्ति पुनः पुनः
bandhayanti mahākāyā nirdahanti mahābalāḥ || pāṭayanti prahāraiś ca tāḍayanti punaḥ punaḥ
వారు మహాకాయులై బంధిస్తారు; మహాబలవంతులు కాల్చివేస్తారు; దెబ్బలతో చీల్చివేస్తారు మరియు మళ్లీ మళ్లీ కొడతారు.
Varāha (default attribution within Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue framework)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"instruction_summary":"Graphic naraka-style punishments illustrate the enforcement side of dharma: wrongdoing results in binding, burning, and repeated beating by powerful agents.","karmic_consequence":"Adharma culminates in violent suffering and restraint; dharmic living avoids such punitive trajectories."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"didactic warning (dharma through deterrence)","core_concept":"Karma is not abstract: harmful actions mature into concrete suffering administered by forces stronger than the individual.","practical_application":"Adopt non-violence, truthfulness, and restraint; perform expiation and charity where appropriate; avoid actions that harden into punitive results."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Cosmology"]
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: hellish otherworldly region
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 198 (afterlife punishment description cluster)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A grim tableau: huge-bodied, powerful agents bind captives, burn them, tear them with blows, and strike repeatedly—an infernal enforcement scene.","item_prompts":["massive dark-toned enforcers","ropes/chains binding captives","flames or brazier for burning","weapons/clubs for repeated blows","expressions of fear and pain"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: fierce figures with bold outlines; stylized flames; rhythmic repetition of striking poses; high-contrast palette emphasizing dread.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: dramatic central infernal scene with gold used sparingly for fire highlights and ornaments; embossed weapons; dense composition.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: controlled chiaroscuro; detailed firelight; anatomically clear figures; emphasis on narrative clarity over gore.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: symbolic infernal landscape with red/orange ground; simplified but expressive figures; sequential action shown in one frame."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grim and admonitory","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium-fast","voice_tone":"deep, stern, warning"}
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic didactic strategy: vivid punitive imagery is used to frame moral causality (karma) in memorable narrative form within late-classical Sanskrit literature.
No specific earthly geographic location is named in this verse; it describes a punitive setting associated with naraka narratives.
Actions are portrayed as having consequences; the verse emphasizes moral accountability through the language of repeated punishment.
Ask anything about this verse
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