Varaha Purana 200.56: Adhyaya 200, Shloka 56
Description of the Forms of Infernal Torments
Naraka Yātanās
षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि षष्टिवर्षशतानि च ॥ गतः स वसति प्रेतो नरके तु पुनःपुनः
ṣaṣṭivarṣasahasrāṇi ṣaṣṭivarṣaśatāni ca || gataḥ sa vasati preto narake tu punaḥ punaḥ
ตลอดหกหมื่นปี และอีกหกร้อยปีด้วย เขายังคงอยู่ที่นั่นในสภาพเป็นเปรต—ตกนรกซ้ำแล้วซ้ำเล่า
Varāha (default 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":"Severe pāpa yields prolonged preta-existence and repeated residence in naraka for vast durations.","karmic_consequence":"The jīva remains a preta for ‘sixty thousand and six thousand’ years (as stated) and returns to hell repeatedly, indicating long karmic latency and recurrence."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karmic temporality","core_concept":"Karmic fruits can be long-duration and cyclic; preta-state signifies unresolved attachments and debts that delay onward progress.","practical_application":"Avoid grave harms; perform prescribed expiations and cultivate dharma now, since post-mortem correction is slow and painful."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Ethics"]
Primary Rasa: bhayānaka
Secondary Rasa: karuṇa
Type: otherworldly realms
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 200.57.0 (torments); Varāha Purāṇa 200.61.0 (preta in sequence)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A desolate preta wandering in a hellscape with a vast, counting motif—endless years marked by repeating pillars or tally-stones—while the background shows recurring gates of naraka.","item_prompts":["gaunt preta figure","infernal landscape","repeating gates/arches (again and again)","tally marks/clock-like wheel for years","dim firelight"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Dark layered background with rhythmic repetition of arches; preta rendered with strong bhāva; time suggested by repeating motifs.","tanjore_prompt":"Gold accents on repeating arches and tally motifs; central preta in muted tones; ornamental border implying long duration.","mysore_prompt":"Subtle chiaroscuro; refined depiction of the preta’s weariness; time conveyed through repeated architectural elements.","pahari_prompt":"Sparse landscape, repeated gateways receding into distance; clear symbolic ‘years’ motif; poignant solitude."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"somber, awe-inducing","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"deep, resonant, warning"}
FAQs
It demonstrates Purāṇic use of large time-units to convey the gravity of ethical consequence and the cosmological scale of afterlife narratives.
No named location; “naraka” is a cosmological category rather than a mapped earthly place in this excerpt.
Wrongdoing is portrayed as leading to prolonged, recurring suffering, encouraging moral self-regulation.
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.