Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 12
Indra’s Brahma-hatyā, Flight from Sin, and Purification by Aśvamedha
तां ददर्शानुधावन्तीं चाण्डालीमिव रूपिणीम् । जरया वेपमानाङ्गीं यक्ष्मग्रस्तामसृक्पटाम् ॥ १२ ॥ विकीर्य पलितान् केशांस्तिष्ठ तिष्ठेति भाषिणीम् । मीनगन्ध्यसुगन्धेन कुर्वतीं मार्गदूषणम् ॥ १३ ॥
tāṁ dadarśānudhāvantīṁ cāṇḍālīm iva rūpiṇīm jarayā vepamānāṅgīṁ yakṣma-grastām asṛk-paṭām
Indra saw personified sinful reaction chasing him, appearing like a caṇḍāla woman. She seemed very old, and all the limbs of her body trembled. Because she was afflicted with tuberculosis, her body and garments were covered with blood. Breathing an unbearable fishy odor that polluted the entire street, she called to Indra, “Wait! Wait!”
When a person is afflicted with tuberculosis, he often vomits blood, which makes his garments bloody.
FAQs
This verse depicts terrifying, decaying imagery chasing the sinner, illustrating how fear and suffering can arise at death due to sinful karma.
The text uses a stark comparison to convey extreme inauspiciousness, degradation, and dread—symbolizing the sinner’s karmic fate closing in.
Live with restraint and devotion—avoid actions that create future fear and suffering, and cultivate remembrance of the Lord to counter death-anxiety.