Varaha Purana 136.10 — Adhyaya 136, Shloka 10
A Sūtra-like Manual of Expiations for Ritual Transgressions
पिशाचो जायते तत्र वर्षाणि नव पञ्च च ॥ ततस्तु कुणपोच्छिष्टं त्रिंशद्वर्षाणि खादति ॥
piśāco jāyate tatra varṣāṇi nava pañca ca || tatastu kuṇapocchiṣṭaṃ triṃśadvarṣāṇi khādati ||
Tại đó, một người sinh làm piśāca trong chín và năm năm (mười bốn năm); rồi sau đó ăn những phần còn lại của tử thi trong ba mươi năm.
Unspecified (dialogue frame suggests Varāha addressing Pṛthivī, but not explicit in this verse)
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":"None","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":"Severe post-mortem degradation is described as the karmic result of grave ritual/ethical transgression associated with impurity and the dead.","karmic_consequence":"Birth as a piśāca for fourteen years, followed by thirty years subsisting on corpse-remnants."}
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-and-gati (post-mortem destiny)","core_concept":"Actions aligned with tamas/impurity precipitate a corresponding mode of existence (piśācatva) and degraded sustenance.","practical_application":"Maintain śauca (purity), avoid ucchiṣṭa/śava-saṃsparśa transgressions, and follow prescribed expiations when pollution occurs."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Karmic Consequence","Ritual Pollution Concepts"]
Primary Rasa: bībhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayānaka
Type: liminal/impure space (antyeṣṭi domain)
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 136.12–15 (Dharaṇī’s follow-up questions on śmaśāna and Śiva’s praise)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A stark afterlife tableau: a human soul fallen into piśāca-form, haunting a cremation ground, then feeding on corpse-remnants over long years.","item_prompts":["cremation ground with pyres/ashes","gaunt piśāca figure","corpse-remnants (kuṇapa-ucchiṣṭa)","dark sky, jackals/crows","time-cycle motif (years passing)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural palette with dramatic chiaroscuro: śmaśāna at night, stylized flames and ash mounds, piśāca rendered with elongated eyes and angular limbs, minimal gore, strong narrative clarity.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore-style central piśāca figure framed by ornate borders; gold-leaf used for fire-glow and ash highlights; symbolic rather than graphic depiction of corpse-remnants.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting refinement: subdued night tones, delicate linework for pyres and ash, expressive but restrained piśāca visage, emphasis on moral allegory.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature: compact cremation-ground vignette with rolling hills, stylized trees, small pyres, a lone piśāca near ash heaps; cool blues and greys with warm fire accents."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"austere, admonitory, grave","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"low, steady, warning"}
FAQs
It documents Purāṇic representations of post-mortem suffering using culturally legible images (piśāca existence, corpse-remnant eating), informing studies of Indic moral pedagogy.
No geographic site is named; 'tatra' is context-dependent on surrounding narrative.
Transgression is portrayed as leading to degrading states of existence, emphasizing restraint and ethical conduct.
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