Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments
अपविद्धास्तु यैर्वेदा वह्नयश्चाहिताग्निभिः ।
त इमे शालशृङ्गाग्रात् पात्यन्तेऽधः पुनः पुनः ॥
apaviddhās tu yair vedā vahnayaś cāhitāgnibhiḥ | ta ime śālaśṛṅgāgrāt pātyante 'dhaḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||
Diejenigen, die die Veden beiseiteschoben, und diejenigen, die die heiligen Feuer vernachlässigten—obwohl sie Hüter der geweihten Feuer waren—werden immer wieder von der hornartig zugespitzten Spitze eines Śāla-Baumes hinabgeschleudert.
{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
Greater obligation follows greater initiation: one who has undertaken Vedic-fire disciplines but later abandons Veda and fire commits a heavier breach of trust (vrata-bhraṃśa), hence severe and repetitive punishment.
Dharma-śikṣā (instruction) and karmaphala narrative; not a genealogical or cosmogenic item, but a normative supplement common in Purāṇas.
The ‘repeated fall’ signifies spiritual regression caused by abandoning śruti-guided discipline: one loses the ‘summit’ of practice and repeatedly descends into instability.