Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 56
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
पापीयसां तद्वदिह कृघ्नाः सर्वेषु पापेषु वनशाचरेन्द्र ब्रह्मघ्नगोघ्नादिषु निष्कृतिर्हि विद्येतत नैवास्य तु दुष्टचारिणः न निष्कृतिश्चास्ति कृतघ्नवृत्तेः सुहृत्कृतं नाशयतो ऽब्दकोटिभिः
pāpīyasāṃ tadvadiha kṛghnāḥ sarveṣu pāpeṣu vanaśācarendra brahmaghnagoghnādiṣu niṣkṛtirhi vidyetata naivāsya tu duṣṭacāriṇaḥ na niṣkṛtiścāsti kṛtaghnavṛtteḥ suhṛtkṛtaṃ nāśayato 'bdakoṭibhiḥ
Ebenso, o Herr der Waldbewohner: Der Undankbare ist der schlimmste unter allen Sündern. Für Sünden wie Brahmanenmord oder Kuhmord wird zwar eine Sühne gelehrt; doch für den Übeltäter, der von Undank lebt—der das Gute, das ein Wohltäter getan hat, zunichtemacht—gibt es keine Sühne, selbst nicht in vielen zehn Millionen Jahren.
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FAQs
The text treats ingratitude (kṛtaghnatā) as a uniquely corrosive vice: it negates social and moral reciprocity (ṛṇa/obligation) and thus undermines dharma itself. Hence it is rhetorically placed beyond ordinary prāyaścitta, emphasizing that ethical character and loyalty to benefactors are foundational.
This is primarily a dharma/ācāra-oriented instruction embedded in narrative, aligning most closely with ancillary purāṇic teaching rather than the core five marks; secondarily it supports ‘dharma’ exposition often accompanying vaṃśānucarita or manvantara narratives, but it is not itself sarga/pratisarga.
By stating that even grave transgressions have expiation while ingratitude does not, the verse symbolically elevates gratitude as the glue of cosmic and social order—implying that betrayal of received good is a betrayal of ṛta/dharma, not merely a personal fault.