Varaha Purana 202.27 — Adhyaya 202, Shloka 27
Description of Infernal Punishments and the Ripening of Karmic Consequences
गोग्हातको ह्ययं पापः कूटशाल्मलिमारुहेत् ॥ कृष्यते विविधैर्घोरै राक्षसैर्घोरदर्शनैः
goghātako hy ayaṃ pāpaḥ kūṭaśālmalim āruhet || kṛṣyate vividhair ghorai rākṣasair ghoradarśanaiḥ
یہ گائے کا قاتل گنہگار نوکیلے شالمَلی درخت پر چڑھایا جاتا ہے؛ پھر خوفناک شکل والے طرح طرح کے ہولناک راکشس اسے گھسیٹتے پھرتے ہیں۔
Varāha (default, instructor voice in dialogue framework)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"Gohatyā (cow-killing) is presented as a grave mahāpātaka leading to specific naraka-torments (śālmali-arohana and rākṣasa-dragging).","karmic_consequence":"Commission leads to hellish torture by terrifying rākṣasas; implied deterrence through vivid retribution."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-phalavāda (moral causality)","core_concept":"Actions (especially mahāpātakas) mature into proportionate experiential suffering in post-mortem realms.","practical_application":"Avoid violence toward protected beings (cow); cultivate ahiṃsā and dharmic livelihood to prevent such karmic maturation."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Karmic Retribution"]
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: otherworld/afterlife
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 202 (naraka/mahāpātaka sequence continuing in 202.32–35)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A condemned cow-killer is forced up a thorny śālmali tree while grotesque rākṣasas with fearsome faces pull and drag him, emphasizing pain and terror.","item_prompts":["sharp śālmali tree with spikes/thorns","terrified sinner climbing","multiple rākṣasas tugging with ropes/hooks","dark infernal landscape","blood/scratches (suggested, not gratuitous)","smoke/ash atmosphere"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: flat yet dynamic infernal scene; rākṣasas in bold reds/greens with stylized eyes; śālmali rendered as patterned thorn-tree; strong contour lines and rhythmic composition.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central victim and looming rākṣasas with gold-leaf accents on ornaments/weapons; dark lacquered background; stylized flames framing the naraka setting.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined linework; controlled horror—expressive faces, muted infernal palette; detailed bark/thorns; subtle shading to show dragging motion.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative vignette with rolling dark hills; expressive, slightly whimsical rākṣasas; emphasis on storytelling clarity over gore; cool-night palette with red accents."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave, admonitory","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"stern, weighty, warning"}
FAQs
It preserves a conventional Purāṇic repertoire of punitive imagery (trees, dragging by rākṣasas) used to communicate moral causality and social prohibitions.
No specific place-name is given; the imagery is otherworldly rather than geographic.
The verse frames harm to protected animals (here, the cow) as a grave ethical breach with severe consequences.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
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 audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.