Varaha Purana 200.38: Adhyaya 200, Shloka 38
Description of the Forms of Infernal Torments
Naraka Yātanās
दश तत्र लताः शूलाः कुम्भीपाकास्त्रयोदश ॥ याति पापमहोरात्रं तस्मिन्नियमितेन तु
daśa tatra latāḥ śūlāḥ kumbhīpākās trayodaśa || yāti pāpam ahorātraṃ tasmin niyamitena tu
ที่นั่นมีศูลเป็นเถาวัลย์สิบประการ และมีแดนกุมภีปากะสิบสามแห่ง; ผู้ทำบาปต้องผ่านทั้งกลางวันและกลางคืน ณ ที่นั้น ภายใต้ข้อกำหนดอันเคร่งครัด
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":"Naraka torments are enumerated and regulated: the sinner is constrained to pass day and night through specified stations (e.g., 'lata-śūla' and 'kumbhīpāka').","karmic_consequence":"Persistent sin results in prolonged, regulated suffering without respite (day and night) in designated hell-stations."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"cosmological ethics (niyama-bound retribution)","core_concept":"Even punishment is 'regulated'—a law-like moral cosmos where time (ahorātra) and place structure karmic fruition.","practical_application":"Adopt self-regulation (niyama) in life—truthfulness, non-harm, restraint—so one is not 'regulated' by suffering after death."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: otherworld/afterlife realm (hell compartments)
Related Themes: Varaha Purana 200.41 (sequence principle); Varaha Purana 200.43-200.45 (graphic elaboration of stations)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A map-like infernal tableau: ten 'creeping-vine spears' and thirteen Kumbhīpāka stations, with the sinner forced to traverse them continuously day and night.","item_prompts":["lata (vine) entwined around spears","countable stations (10 and 13) marked as gates or pits","time motif (sun/moon) indicating day-night","bound or guided sinner","infernal signage/markers"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Stylized vines curling around spear-forms; repeated station motifs; sun and moon icons above; rhythmic composition emphasizing count and order.","tanjore_prompt":"Gold-bordered grid of 23 compartments (symbolic), each labeled by motif; central moving figure; ornate borders to contrast horror with sacred art form.","mysore_prompt":"Delicate detailing of vines and spearheads; subdued smoke; clear numerative repetition; restrained depiction of violence.","pahari_prompt":"Narrative registers with repeated spear-vine motifs; small sun/moon medallions; crisp outlines and flat color fields."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic, ominous","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium (to keep enumerations intelligible)","voice_tone":"firm, counting-like precision"}
FAQs
The verse uses enumerative cataloguing (ten, thirteen) characteristic of Purāṇic compendia, aiding memorization and systematic presentation.
“Kumbhīpāka” is a named punitive station/realm within the afterlife cosmography, not a terrestrial site in this excerpt.
The sinner is depicted as subjected to structured constraints, reinforcing the idea of an ordered moral consequence system.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple 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.