Shloka 41

Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments

Sanskrit

यावतोऽक्षिनिमेषांस्तु पापमेभिर्नृभिः कृतम् ।

तावद्वर्षसहस्राणि नेत्रात्ति प्राप्नुवन्त्युत ॥

Transliteration

yāvato 'kṣinimeṣāṃs tu pāpam ebhir nṛbhiḥ kṛtam /

tāvad varṣasahasrāṇi netrātti prāpnuvanty uta

Translation

So viele Augenblicksmomente des Lidschlags, wie diese Männer die Sünde begingen, so viele Tausende von Jahren erleiden sie das Ausreißen der Augen.

Word by Word

यावतःof as many as

अक्षि-निमेषान्eye-blinks

तुindeed

पापम्sin

एभिःby these

नृभिःby men

कृतम्done/committed

तावत्so many (for that long)

वर्ष-सहस्राणिthousands of years

नेत्रात्from the eye

तिeats/consumes

प्राप्नुवन्तिthey obtain/undergo

उतindeed/also

Speakers

Didactic narration on karmic proportionality (frame-speaker not explicit in excerpt)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

Karma proportionalityTime and retributionEthics of intentionNaraka

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse teaches meticulous moral causality: even momentary indulgence is not ‘small’ if repeated; karmic accounting is precise, and suffering duration is expressed as proportionate to the frequency of wrongdoing.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Not a pancalakṣaṇa core item; it is a dharma-upadeśa section using time-measures to impress karmic certainty.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Blink-instants’ symbolize subtle, almost unconscious lapses. The teaching warns against micro-habits (vāsanā) that accumulate into long-term bondage and pain.