Shloka 1
Adhyaya 15 — Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell
इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे जडोपाख्याने यमकिङ्करसंबादो नाम चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः ।
पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः
यमकिङ्कर उवाच ।
पतितात् प्रतिगृह्यार्थं खरयोनिṃ व्रजेद् द्विजः ।
नरकात् प्रतिमुक्तस्तु कृमिः पतितयाजकः ॥
iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe jaḍopākhyāne yamakiṅkarasaṃvādo nāma caturdaśo 'dhyāyaḥ /
pañcadaśo 'dhyāyaḥ /
yamakiṅkara uvāca /
patitāt pratigṛhyārthaṃ kharayoniṃ vrajed dvijaḥ /
narakāt pratimuktas tu kṛmiḥ patitayājakaḥ
Thus ends the fourteenth chapter, “The Dialogue of the Messengers of Yama,” in the Jaḍopākhyāna of the Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. Chapter fifteen begins. The messenger of Yama said: A brāhmaṇa who accepts wealth from a fallen man (patita) enters the womb of a donkey; but one who officiates sacrifices (yajña) for a fallen man, when released from hell, becomes a worm.
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FAQs
The verse warns against monetizing sacred office through association with those deemed ritually fallen. It frames priestly livelihood as ethically constrained, with consequences for compromising standards.
Ancillary dharma teaching; not directly sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita.
Donkey and worm symbolize burden-bearing and low, crawling existence—images of spiritual diminishment that mirror the degradation of discernment (viveka) when dharma is traded for gain.