Shloka 39
Viṣṇu-sahasranāma—Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Recitation (विष्णोर्नामसहस्रम्)
प्रेतलोकगता होते नरके पापकर्मिण: । पच्यन्ते वै यथा मीना: पूयशोणितभोजना:,ये पापकर्मी मनुष्य प्रेतलोकमें जाकर नरककी आगमें मछलियोंकी तरह पकाये जाते हैं और पीब तथा रक्त भोजन करते हैं
pretalokagatā hote narake pāpakarmiṇaḥ | pacyante vai yathā mīnāḥ pūyaśoṇitabhojanāḥ ||
Yama said: “Those who commit sinful deeds, after departing to the realm of the departed, fall into hell. There they are cooked in the fires like fish, and are made to subsist on pus and blood.”
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sinful actions (pāpa-karma) lead to painful post-mortem consequences; the graphic imagery is meant to warn and to encourage adherence to dharma and ethical restraint.
Yama, the lord of justice and the dead, describes the fate of wrongdoers: after reaching pretaloka they are cast into naraka, where they undergo torment likened to fish being cooked, and are forced to consume impure substances such as pus and blood.