Shloka 59
Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments
गावोऽग्निर्जननी विप्रोज्येष्ठभ्राता पिता स्वसा ।
जामयो गुरवो वृद्धा यैः स्पृष्टास्तु पदा नृभिः ॥
gāvo 'gnir jananī vipro jyeṣṭha-bhrātā pitā svasā /
jāmayo guravo vṛddhā yaiḥ spṛṣṭās tu padā nṛbhiḥ
Jene Männer, die Kühe, das Feuer, ihre Mutter, einen Brāhmaṇa, den älteren Bruder, den Vater, die Schwester, weibliche Verwandte durch Heirat, Lehrer und Greise getreten (mit dem Fuß berührt) haben—für sie folgen schwerste Konsequenzen.
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FAQs
Reverence (satkāra) toward sanctified beings and dharma-pillars—parents, teachers, elders, brāhmaṇas, cows, and fire—is non-negotiable in the Purāṇic ethic. Physical contempt (kicking) is treated as a direct violation of ṛta/dharma, producing severe karmic retribution.
Primarily ‘Vamśānucarita/Dharma’ material (ethical conduct and its fruits), not sarga/pratisarga. It functions as didactic naraka-varṇana (hell-description) used to reinforce varṇāśrama-dharma.
The ‘foot’ symbolizes egoic dominance and disrespect. To place it upon the sacred (agni, go, guru, mātṛ) is to invert the proper hierarchy of consciousness; the ensuing bondage imagery in later verses mirrors self-forged inner bondage.