Shloka 13

नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्

Devanagari script

वेददूषयिता यश् च वेदविक्रयकश् च यः अगम्यगामी यश् च स्यात् ते यान्ति लवणं द्विज

Transliteration

vedadūṣayitā yaś ca vedavikrayakaś ca yaḥ agamyagāmī yaś ca syāt te yānti lavaṇaṃ dvija

Translation

O Zweimalgeborener: Wer die Veden entweiht, wer die Veden aus Gewinnsucht verkauft, und wer zum Verbotenen geht—sie alle fallen in die Hölle namens Lavana, die Salzhölle.

Word by Word

वेददूषयिताone who corrupts the Veda

यःwho

चand

वेदविक्रयकःa seller of the Veda

चand

यःwho

अगम्यगामीone who goes to the forbidden (illicit-goer)

यःand who

चand

स्यात्may be/is

तेthey

यान्तिgo

लवणम्to the salt (hell/region named Lavaṇa)

द्विजO twice-born (brahmin)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya; addressing a dvija as part of the didactic frame)

Characters & Entities

Veda

Dvija (twice-born)

FAQs

What is the significance of the 'Salt Hell (Lavaṇa)' in the Vishnu Purana?

It functions as a moral consequence: those who violate sacred authority (the Veda) or commit forbidden acts are said to experience a fitting, purifying retribution in a specific naraka named Lavaṇa.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the corruption of dharma in Kali-yuga here?

By listing emblematic Kali-yuga transgressions—defiling revelation, turning scripture into commerce, and pursuing the prohibited—he shows how social and spiritual order collapses when sacred knowledge is treated as an object of exploitation rather than realization.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when not named in the verse, the Purana’s framework is Vaishnava: dharma and śāstra are upheld as expressions of the Supreme Lord’s order, and violations are portrayed as turning away from that sovereignty, producing karmic consequences.