Shloka 40

Naraka-varṇana: The Hellish Planets and the Karmic Logic of Punishment

Devanagari script

भूद्वीपवर्षसरिदद्रिनभ:समुद्र- पातालदिङ्‌नरकभागणलोकसंस्था । गीता मया तव नृपाद्भ‍ुतमीश्वरस्य स्थूलं वपु: सकलजीवनिकायधाम ॥ ४० ॥ तस्मात् सङ्कीर्तनं विष्णोर्जगन्मङ्गलमंहसाम् । महतामपि कौरव्य विद्ध्यैकान्तिकनिष्कृतम् ॥ ३१ ॥

Transliteration

bhū-dvīpa-varṣa-sarid-adri-nabhaḥ-samudra- pātāla-diṅ-naraka-bhāgaṇa-loka-saṁsthā gītā mayā tava nṛpādbhutam īśvarasya sthūlaṁ vapuḥ sakala-jīva-nikāya-dhāma

Translation

My dear King, I have described to you the earth and the other worlds—their regions, rivers and mountains—as well as the sky, the oceans, the lower realms, the directions, the hellish domains, and the stars. All of this is the wondrous expanse of the Lord’s gross virāṭ-vapu, the gigantic material form upon which the entire host of living beings rests.

Synonyms

• bhū-dvīpa-varṣa-sarit-adri-nabhaḥ-samudra-pātāla-diṅ-naraka-bhāgaṇa-loka-saṁsthā: the cosmic arrangement (of earth…worlds)
• bhū-dvīpa-varṣa-sarit-adri-nabhaḥ-samudra-pātāla-diṅ-naraka-bhāgaṇa-loka-saṁsthā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक) + dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक) + varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sarit (प्रातिपदिक) + adri (प्रातिपदिक) + nabhas (प्रातिपदिक) + samudra (प्रातिपदिक) + pātāla (प्रातिपदिक) + diś (प्रातिपदिक) + naraka (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāgaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + saṁsthā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; long enumerative compound: ‘the arrangement/structure consisting of earth, continents, regions, rivers, mountains, sky, oceans, netherworlds, directions, hells, stars/planets, and worlds’

• gītā: has been sung/described
• gītā: Kriya (क्रिया-भाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gai (धातु) → gīta (कृदन्त, भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular; PPP agreeing with ‘saṁsthā’

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; 1st person pronoun

• tava: for you/of you
• tava: Sampradāna/Sambandha (सम्प्रदान/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; 2nd person pronoun

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular

• adbhutam: wonderful
• adbhutam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adbhuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; qualifies ‘vapuḥ’

• īśvarasya: of the Lord
• īśvarasya: Sambandha (षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• sthūlam: gross
• sthūlam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular; qualifies ‘vapuḥ’

• vapuḥ: body/form
• vapuḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vapus (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• sakala-jīva-nikāya-dhāma: the abode of all living beings
• sakala-jīva-nikāya-dhāma: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/कर्मपूरक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक) + jīva (प्रातिपदिक) + nikāya (प्रातिपदिक) + dhāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular; ‘sakala-jīva-nikāyasya dhāma’ (abode of all groups of living beings)

Purport

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Twenty-sixth Chapter, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “A Description of the Hellish Planets.”

Characters & Entities

• Parīkṣit Mahārāja
• Viṣṇu (the Supreme Lord)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the universal form (Viśvarūpa)?

This verse states that the Lord’s gross universal form contains all cosmic arrangements—continents, oceans, directions, subterranean realms, hells, luminaries, and planetary systems—serving as the comprehensive abode of all beings.

Why did Śukadeva Gosvāmī describe Naraka and the planetary systems to King Parīkṣit?

In Canto 5 Chapter 26, Śukadeva explains the consequences of karma and the structure of the cosmos; by framing it as the Lord’s universal form, he connects moral responsibility and cosmology to remembrance of the Supreme.

Practical application of meditating on the Lord’s universal form in modern life?

It cultivates humility and accountability—seeing all realms and outcomes within the Lord’s order—encouraging ethical living and steady remembrance of God beyond narrow material identity.