Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 26
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
स्वपोषणपरो यस्तु परित्यजति मानवः पुत्रभृत्यकलत्रादिबन्धुवर्गमकिञ्चनम् दुर्भिक्षे संभ्रमे चापि स श्वभोज्ये निपात्यते
svapoṣaṇaparo yastu parityajati mānavaḥ putrabhṛtyakalatrādibandhuvargamakiñcanam durbhikṣe saṃbhrame cāpi sa śvabhojye nipātyate
Wer nur auf den eigenen Unterhalt bedacht ist und seinen verarmten Kreis von Abhängigen—Söhne, Diener, Ehefrau und andere Verwandte—besonders in Zeiten von Hungersnot und Panik verlässt, wird in den Zustand/die Hölle namens „Hundefraß“ hinabgestoßen.
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FAQs
Gṛhastha life is defined by responsibility, not mere survival. In hardship, dharma intensifies: abandoning those who rely on you (children, spouse, dependents, kin) is treated as a grave moral failure. The verse promotes solidarity, protection of the vulnerable, and sacrifice of selfishness.
Like many purāṇic nīti passages, it is an instructional dharma segment rather than a core pancalakṣaṇa narrative. It functions as ethical codification embedded within purāṇic discourse (upadeśa), not as sarga/pratisarga/vamśa/vamśānucarita/manvantara description.
‘Śvabhojya’ (dog-food) symbolizes loss of human dignity and social-personal status due to betrayal of dharma. Dogs represent scavenging and abandonment; the punishment mirrors the offender’s own abandonment of dependents.