Shloka 15
नरकलोकमार्गयमदूतस्वरूपवर्णनम् / Description of the Path to Naraka and the Nature of Yama’s Messengers
क्वचिद्वालुकया व्याप्तमाकंठांतः प्रवेशया । क्वचिद्दुष्टाम्बुना व्याप्तं क्वचिच्च करिषाग्निना
kvacidvālukayā vyāptamākaṃṭhāṃtaḥ praveśayā | kvacidduṣṭāmbunā vyāptaṃ kvacicca kariṣāgninā
في مواضعَ يُغمر المرء بالرمال ويُجبر على الغوص حتى العنق؛ وفي مواضعَ أخرى تُغشيه مياهٌ نتنة؛ وفي مواضعَ سواها يُعذَّب بنار الروث المحترق.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
The verse uses vivid images of being smothered, drowned, and burned to illustrate the painful consequences of bondage (pāśa) created by karma and ignorance; it implicitly points the seeker toward refuge in Pati—Lord Shiva—as the liberator who grants purification and release.
Such descriptions of suffering function as a contrast to Shiva’s grace: devotion to Saguna Shiva through Linga-worship, mantra, and disciplined conduct is presented in the Shiva Purana as a concrete means to overcome karmic afflictions and move toward Shiva-realization.
The takeaway is to reduce karmic bondage through Shaiva sādhana—regular japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), worship of the Shiva-linga with purity and restraint, and yogic self-control—so the mind does not fall into states symbolized by these torments.