Varaha Purana 161.3: Adhyaya 161, Shloka 3
The Efficacy of the Sacred Forests: The Merit of Pilgrimage to Mathurā’s Twelve Groves
Uttara Bhāga · Mathurā Māhātmya (Sacred Geography and Pilgrimage Ethics)
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ सर्वधर्मविहीनानां पुरुषाणां दुरात्मनाम् ॥ नरकार्त्तिहरादेवी मथुरा पापघातिनी ॥
śrīvarāha uvāca || sarvadharmavihīnānāṃ puruṣāṇāṃ durātmanām || narakārttiharā devī mathurā pāpaghātinī ||
shrIvarAha uvAcha || sarvadharmavihInAnAM puruShANAM durAtmanAm || narakArttiharA devI mathurA pApaghAtinI
พระศรีวราหะตรัสว่า: สำหรับบุรุษผู้ปราศจากธรรมทั้งปวงและมีจิตชั่วร้าย เทวีมถุราโปรดขจัดความทุกข์แห่งนรกและทำลายบาปทั้งหลาย
Sandhi Notes
- श्रीवराह उवाच → श्रीवराहः उवाच (विसर्ग-सन्धि)
- नरकार्त्तिहरादेवी → नरकार्त्तिहरā देवी (आ + दे → ā दे)
- अन्यत्र पदच्छेदः यथालिखितम्।
Varāha
Seeking relief/solution for beings; receptive to teaching
Place is not inert: a kṣetra-devatā embodies divine grace that can burn pāpa and soften karmic consequences, opening a path back to dharma.
Seek refuge in Mathurā through pilgrimage, darśana, and regulated practice; let kṣetra-anugraha catalyze ethical reform rather than license continued adharma.
Varāha responds as teacher to Earth’s concern, offering a salvific kṣetra (Mathurā) as remedy; interaction is instructional dialogue.
Even for those devoid of dharma, resorting to (or contact with) the goddess Mathurā destroys sin and removes the afflictions of hell.
Association with Mathurā yields pāpa-kṣaya and narakārti-haraṇa; neglecting such refuge leaves one to ordinary karmic retribution.
Strongly implicit: Mathurā is Kṛṣṇa’s principal kṣetra; Vaiṣṇava framing of sin-destruction and naraka-relief aligns with Kṛṣṇa-bhakti geography.
160.160.7-8 (Mathurā circuit and pradakṣiṇā as concrete access to Mathurā’s power); 161.1.0-161.2.0 (questions answered here)
FAQs
It exemplifies Purāṇic sacred-geography discourse, presenting Mathurā as a culturally valorized site whose visit is framed as ethically transformative.
Mathurā—classically the Yamunā-region city in North India, continuously identified with modern Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).
Even those described as morally deficient are encouraged toward reform through association with a heritage landscape portrayed as purifying.
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