Varaha Purana 202.16: Adhyaya 202, Shloka 16

Description of Infernal Punishments and the Ripening of Karmic Consequences

Devanagari script

पिशुनं हि महाव्याघ्राः पञ्च घोराः सुदारुणाः ॥ इमं पचत पाकेषु बहुधा मर्मभेदिनम्

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 202.16

Transliteration

piśunaṃ hi mahāvyāghrāḥ pañca ghorāḥ sudāruṇāḥ || imaṃ pacata pākeṣu bahudhā marmabhedinam

Translation

แท้จริงแล้ว ผู้ใส่ร้าย—ขอให้ ‘พยัคฆ์มหา’ ทั้งห้าผู้สยดสยองและโหดร้ายยิ่ง—ต้มผู้นี้ในนรกแห่งการเคี่ยวต้มด้วยวิธีนานาประการ เป็นทุกขเวทนาที่แทงทะลุจุดสำคัญแห่งชีวิต

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Word by Word

• piśunam: slanderous; malicious
• piśunam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: piśuna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; used adjectivally

• hi: indeed; for
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphatic/causal

• mahāvyāghrāḥ: great tigers
• mahāvyāghrāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + vyāghra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; compound: ‘great tigers’

• pañca: five
• pañca: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañcan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral; Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (agreeing with mahāvyāghrāḥ)

• ghorāḥ: terrible
• ghorāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• sudāruṇāḥ: very cruel
• sudāruṇāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; intensifier su-

• imam: this (man)
• imam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; pronoun

• pacata: cook (you all)!
• pacata: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pac (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), Madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person), Plural; Parasmaipada

• pākeṣu: in cookings/boilings; in cauldrons
• pākeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural

• bahudhā: in many ways; repeatedly
• bahudhā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bahudhā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• marmabhedinam: piercing vital parts
• marmabhedinam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: marma + bhedin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘one who pierces vital spots’

Speaker

Varāha (default dialogue framework)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Ethics
• Vaishnavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic ethical register where social harms such as slander are framed within karmic causality and post-mortem retribution imagery, a common didactic strategy in Dharma-oriented literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No explicit geographic toponym appears in this verse; the imagery is cosmological/ethical (tormenting ‘pāka’ contexts) rather than site-specific.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

To avoid slander/defamation (piśunatā), presented as a serious moral harm with severe consequences.