Shloka 31

Devanagari script

तामिस्त्रं लोहशङ्कुश्च महारौरवशाल्मली / रौरवं कुड्वलं कालसूत्रकं पूतिमृतिका

Transliteration

tāmistraṃ lohaśaṅkuśca mahārauravaśālmalī / rauravaṃ kuḍvalaṃ kālasūtrakaṃ pūtimṛtikā

Translation

Tāmistra, Lohaśaṅku, Mahāraurava, Śālmalī, Raurava, Kuḍvala, Kālasūtraka, and Pūtimṛtikā—these are the named hell-realms spoken of here.

Word by Word

• तामिस्त्रम्: Tāmistra (a hell)
• तामिस्त्रम्: Samjna (Name/संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तामिस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; नाम (नरक-नाम)

• लोहशङ्कुः: Lohaśaṅku (iron-spike hell/name)
• लोहशङ्कुः: Samjna (Name/संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोह + शङ्कु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (लोहेन/लोहस्य शङ्कुः)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• महारौरवशाल्मली: Mahāraurava and Śālmalī (hell-names)
• महारौरवशाल्मली: Samjna (Name/संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महā + रौरव + शाल्मली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (महारौरवः च शाल्मली च)

• रौरवम्: Raurava (a hell)
• रौरवम्: Samjna (Name/संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रौरव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; नाम

• कुड्वलम्: Kuḍvala (a hell)
• कुड्वलम्: Samjna (Name/संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुड्वल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; नाम

• कालसूत्रकम्: Kālasūtraka (a hell)
• कालसूत्रकम्: Samjna (Name/संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + सूत्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (कालस्य सूत्रकम्)

• पूतिमृतिका: Pūtimṛtikā (foul-mud hell/name)
• पूतिमृतिका: Samjna (Name/संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूति + मृतिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (पूतिः मृतिका)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Naraka

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Specific categories of pāpa lead to specific narakas; naming them concretizes moral causality and deterrence.

Vedantic Theme: Karma’s determinacy: experiences correspond to tendencies and deeds; suffering is not random but structured.

Application: Use the names as contemplative checkpoints: identify and abandon behaviors that generate cruelty, deceit, theft, betrayal, or violence (as traditionally mapped to these narakas in purāṇic exegesis).

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Geographic Context

Type: punitive realms

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: detailed naraka-lakṣaṇa sections expanding each named hell (internal continuation)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Narakas

FAQs

What is the importance of listing Narakas in Garuda Purana?

This verse functions as a catalog of specific hell-realms (narakas), anchoring the Purana’s teaching that karmic actions have definite consequences described with technical names and categories.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

By naming multiple narakas, it signals that the post-death journey includes differentiated destinations based on one’s deeds, forming part of the broader Preta Kanda narrative about Yama’s administration of karmic results.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use it as a reminder to reduce harmful actions and cultivate dharma—ethical restraint, truthfulness, and compassion—so that one’s karmic trajectory does not incline toward painful states described as narakas.