Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 50
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
धान्येषु शलिर्द्विपदेषु विप्रः चतुष्पदे गौः श्वपदां मृगेन्द्रः पुष्पेषु जाती नगरेषु काञ्ची नारीषु रम्भा श्रमीणां गृहस्थः
dhānyeṣu śalirdvipadeṣu vipraḥ catuṣpade gauḥ śvapadāṃ mṛgendraḥ puṣpeṣu jātī nagareṣu kāñcī nārīṣu rambhā śramīṇāṃ gṛhasthaḥ
Unter den Getreiden ist der Reis (śāli) der beste; unter den Zweifüßern ist der vipra, der Brāhmaṇa, der vornehmste; unter den Vierfüßern ist die Kuh die erste; unter den wilden Tieren ist der Löwe (mṛgendra) der König. Unter den Blumen ist jāti (Jasmin) die beste; unter den Städten ist Kāñcī die vorzüglichste; unter den Frauen ist Rambhā die herausragendste; und unter den āśramas (Lebensstufen) ist der gṛhastha, der Hausstand, der wichtigste.
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FAQs
The verse teaches a dharma-oriented valuation of the world: nourishment (rice), learning and ritual stewardship (brāhmaṇa), non-violence and sustenance (cow), natural sovereignty (lion), refinement (jasmine), cultured sacred urbanity (Kāñcī), idealized beauty (Rambhā), and the social-spiritual centrality of gārhasthya, which supports other āśramas through hospitality, charity, and progeny.
Primarily didactic/ācāra material rather than strict cosmology or genealogy; it aligns most closely with Dharma/Ācāra instruction embedded within Purāṇic narration (often catalogued under ancillary teaching within Vamśānucarita-era discourse rather than Sarga/Pratisarga proper).
The ‘best-of’ list encodes Purāṇic cultural ideals: the cow symbolizes abundance and ahiṃsā; the brāhmaṇa symbolizes śruti-smṛti preservation; the householder symbolizes the economic and ritual foundation of society; Kāñcī symbolizes a civilizational center; Rambhā symbolizes aesthetic excellence used as a benchmark in kāvya and Purāṇic diction.