Shloka 8

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

Devanagari script

भ्रूणहा गुरुहन्ता च गोघ्नश् च मुनिसत्तम यान्ति ते नरकं रोधं यश् चोच्छ्वासनिरोधकः

Transliteration

bhrūṇahā guruhantā ca goghnaś ca munisattama yānti te narakaṃ rodhaṃ yaś cocchvāsanirodhakaḥ

Translation

O Bester der Weisen: Der Mörder eines Embryos, der Mörder des Lehrers und der Kuhmörder—sie alle gehen in die Hölle namens Rodha; ebenso der, der grausam den Atem eines anderen erstickt.

Word by Word

• भ्रूणहा: killer of an embryo
• भ्रूणहा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रूण (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु) → -हा (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः; कृदन्तः (हन धातोः क्विप्/ण्वुलादि-प्रत्ययान्त-प्रातिपदिक: killer)

• गुरुहन्ता: slayer of a teacher
• गुरुहन्ता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु) → हन्तृ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः; हन्तृ-शब्दः (agent noun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• गोघ्नः: cow-killer
• गोघ्नः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु) → घ्न (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः; घ्न-प्रत्ययान्त (killer)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• मुनिसत्तम: O best of sages
• मुनिसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुनीनां सत्तमः)

• यान्ति: go
• यान्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• ते: those
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; निर्देश (those)

• नरकम्: hell
• नरकम्: Karma (Destination/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; गन्तव्य-कर्म

• रोधम्: Rodha (a hell)
• रोधम्: Karma (Destination/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रोध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; नरकविशेष-नाम (as apposition)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• उच्छ्वासनिरोधकः: one who obstructs breathing
• उच्छ्वासनिरोधकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उच्छ्वास (प्रातिपदिक) + निरोधक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (उच्छ्वासस्य निरोधकः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Classification of grave sins (mahāpātakas) and their specific naraka destinations.

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Acts that sever life and dharmic continuity—bhrūṇahatyā, guruhatyā, gohatyā, and suffocation—ripen as confinement in Rodha naraka.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Protect the vulnerable, honor teachers, uphold non-violence, and reject cruelty that weaponizes control over another’s life-breath.

Vishishtadvaita: The sanctity of embodied life is affirmed as real and God-governed; harming life violates the Lord’s ordered world and yields definite karmic results.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Rodha (Naraka)

FAQs

What is the significance of Rodha Naraka in the Vishnu Purana?

Rodha is named as a specific hell assigned for severe transgressions; this verse links Rodha to acts that destroy life and violate sacred social bonds (embryo, guru, cow), highlighting karmic retribution within dharma.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the moral logic behind these punishments?

Parāśara groups these sins as exceptionally grievous because they attack life itself and the pillars of dharmic order—procreation, teaching lineage, and the cow as a protected symbol of sustenance—thereby warranting a distinct naraka outcome.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the teaching presumes a universe governed by His sovereign moral order, where actions inevitably mature into results (karma-phala) under the overarching maintenance of dharma.