In the course of the Varaha Purana’s teachings, it is told that those whose actions are impure and unrighteous will find that their offspring lack auspicious features and good form. Such progeny are marked by misery and a terrifying presence, their very voices echoing the ripeness of sorrow in the world. Lacking beauty, virtue, strength, and character, these children become destroyers of karma, rendered as insignificant as blades of grass. When faced with the challenges of performing good deeds, these people become deeply bewildered. Whatever actions they undertake, in every case, they are destined for decline. In lands where such conduct flourishes, all manner of unwholesome deeds prosper, and even if the rains are good, the wise are counseled to avoid their fields. For such souls, there is neither happiness nor liberation to be found in human existence. Those who engage in theft experience only an unending succession of suffering. Their minds disturbed, they are reborn into animal or human bodies according to their actions—whether they give, collect, or seize by force, or act according to their nature. Women who behave in such ways, and anyone who harms people endowed with virtue, purity, and the marks of righteousness, must endure hell, a place filled with great fear and abundant sin. When the fruits of their karma are finally spent, they are born again as humans, but in harsh and painful conditions. They may find themselves among prostitutes, gamblers, cheats, and distillers—some are shameless, some marked with tilaka, some castrated. Among women, those who excessively indulge in sensual pleasures are likewise reborn to experience those very natures, to speak those words, and to partake in those enjoyments. Men who are overly attached to fortune become repulsive in appearance, and the lowest of men endure suffering both of the body and the mind. They inevitably encounter fire, caustic substances, and rivers—there is no doubt. All that has been declared is to be fully accomplished, as spoken in this enumeration of the groups of sin, thus concluding the two hundred and third chapter of the glorious Varaha Purana. Now begins the account of sending messengers. The sage relates another story he heard: “He is far away—what should be done? There seems to be no end to this matter. Is he ashamed? Has something been discovered? Why does he stand turned away? Go, go back there quickly, and bring him here.” A voice interjects, “Why do you speak, O foolish one? His marriage is ongoing. Why do you utter what is blameworthy? Wait for a moment. You call her ‘devoted to her husband,’ ‘virtuous,’ and yet you speak secretly. How is he to be brought, knowing he desires enjoyment? How, O Hari?” Another voice laments, “You are all righteous here; I alone act cruelly. Quickly, you become a serpent, and you, a tiger; you, a reptile. You have entered hell, afflicted by disease; become a terrible fever, a formidable crocodile in the water. Become a fierce wind-disease, and likewise, you become dropsy. Become confusion quickly, and again become obstruction. Let the time remain here as is appropriate and as is seen. And you, having performed your actions, will then attain liberation.” Thus, the story moves forward, weaving together the fates of those who act with unrighteousness and the consequences that unfold, as well as the mysterious workings of messengers and transformation, all under the watchful order of divine law.