Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 34
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
वेदवह्निगुरुत्यागी भार्यापित्रोस्तथैव च/ गिरिशृड्गादधःपातं पात्यन्ते यमकिङ्करैः
vedavahnigurutyāgī bhāryāpitrostathaiva ca/ giriśṛḍgādadhaḥpātaṃ pātyante yamakiṅkaraiḥ
One who abandons the Veda, the sacred fire, and the guru—and likewise (one who abandons) wife and parents—is made to fall down from a mountain peak, cast downward by Yama’s attendants.
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FAQs
The verse treats fidelity to foundational duties—reverence for Veda, maintenance of sacred fire/ritual responsibility, loyalty to the guru, and care for spouse and parents—as pillars of dharma. Abandoning them is framed as a severe moral rupture with correspondingly severe consequences.
This is best classified under Dharma/ācāra instruction within a Purāṇic teaching segment (often grouped with normative material rather than sarga/pratisarga). It aligns most closely with didactic portions that accompany or supplement vaṃśānucarita narratives, but is not itself a cosmogonic or genealogical unit.
Being hurled from a mountain peak symbolizes loss of spiritual ‘height’ gained by discipline and right conduct. The agents of Yama represent the inescapability of karmic consequence when one violates core social and sacred bonds.