Shloka 35
Naraka-varṇana: The Hellish Planets and the Karmic Logic of Punishment
यस्त्विह वा अतिथीनभ्यागतान् वा गृहपतिरसकृदुपगतमन्युर्दिधक्षुरिव पापेन चक्षुषा निरीक्षते तस्य चापि निरये पापदृष्टेरक्षिणी वज्रतुण्डा गृध्रा: कङ्ककाकवटादय: प्रसह्योरु- बलादुत्पाटयन्ति ॥ ३५ ॥
yas tv iha vā atithīn abhyāgatān vā gṛha-patir asakṛd upagata-manyur didhakṣur iva pāpena cakṣuṣā nirīkṣate tasya cāpi niraye pāpa-dṛṣṭer akṣiṇī vajra-tuṇḍā gṛdhrāḥ kaṅka-kāka-vaṭādayaḥ prasahyoru-balād utpāṭayanti.
A householder who receives guests or visitors with cruel glances, as if to burn them to ashes, is put into the hell called Paryāvartana, where he is gazed at by hard-eyed vultures, herons, crows and similar birds, which suddenly swoop down and pluck out his eyes with great force.
According to the Vedic etiquette, even an enemy who comes to a householder’s home should be received in such a gentle way that he forgets that he has come to the home of an enemy. A guest who comes to one’s home should be received very politely. If he is unwanted, the householder should not stare at him with unblinking eyes, for one who does so will be put into the hell known as Paryāvartana after death, and there many ferocious birds like vultures, crows, and herons will suddenly come upon him and pluck out his eyes.
FAQs
This verse warns that a householder who repeatedly looks at guests with angry, sinful intent incurs severe karmic punishment—symbolically, the eyes used for hateful seeing are torn out in hell.
He is teaching Parīkṣit Mahārāja the law of karma and dharma: specific sins create specific reactions, and neglecting or hating guests violates the householder’s sacred duty (atithi-sevā).
Practice respectful speech and a welcoming attitude toward visitors, avoid contemptuous “looks” or hostility, and cultivate compassion—seeing others as souls and as potential guests of God.