Varaha Purana 200.36: Adhyaya 200, Shloka 36
Description of the Forms of Infernal Torments
Naraka Yātanās
मासमेकं वसत्यन्यो तस्यां चुल्ल्यां परिभ्रमन् ॥ ततः शकुनिका नाम वसामेदोवहा नदी
māsam ekaṃ vasaty anyo tasyāṃ cullyāṃ paribhraman || tataḥ śakunikā nāma vasāmedovahā nadī
మరొకడు ఆ చుల్లిలో తిరుగుతూ ఒక నెల నివసిస్తాడు. ఆ తరువాత ‘శకునికా’ అనే నది ఉంది; అది వస మరియు మజ్జను మోసుకుపోతుంది॥
Varāha (default speaker framework)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"instruction_summary":"Specific punishments are time-bound and experiential: a being wanders in the furnace for a month; thereafter further torments (like foul rivers) follow—implying graded karmaphala.","karmic_consequence":"Sin yields sequential, embodied suffering—burning, disorientation, then immersion in repulsive substances."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"purity-ethics","core_concept":"Impure actions generate impure experiential worlds; ‘fat and marrow’ externalize attachment to fleshly indulgence and violence.","practical_application":"Adopt ahiṃsā, moderation, and bodily/mental purity; practice charity and restraint to counteract ‘flesh-attachment’ tendencies."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: naraka river / infernal hydrology
Related Themes: Varaha Purana 200.37-200.38 (furnace and pretas)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A tormented being wanders within the blazing furnace for a month; beyond it flows the Śakunikā river—thick, viscous, carrying fat and marrow.","item_prompts":["figure stumbling amid flames","calendar/moon-cycle motif to indicate ‘one month’","river of pale-yellow/whitish viscous flow","bones/marrow suggestion (symbolic)","heat shimmer and smoke"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized flame field with a lone wandering figure; the river rendered as thick pale bands with rhythmic wave patterns; restrained gore, symbolic textures.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-highlighted flames; river as embossed, glossy pale stream; ornamental frame to contrast beauty with horror.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: nuanced textures for viscous river, careful anatomy of the wandering figure, atmospheric perspective from furnace to riverbank.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative split-scene—left furnace, right river; expressive color contrast (hot reds vs sickly pale yellows), minimal explicitness but strong suggestion."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grim, visceral warning","suggested_raga":"Shubhapantuvarali","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"somber, slightly intensified on ‘vasā-medovahā’ for emphasis."}
FAQs
It illustrates the catalog-like sequencing of punishments and features (furnace, then river) typical of Purāṇic infernal topographies.
“Śakunikā” is a named river within the text’s infernal cosmography; no secure modern geographic identification is implied.
Time-bound suffering (a month) is presented as a consequence of wrongdoing, reinforcing moral accountability.
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.