Shloka 7
Matsya Purana — Dialogue of Aṣṭaka and Yayāti: Exhaustion of Merit
*ययातिरुवाच ऊर्ध्वं देहात्कर्मणो जृम्भमाणाद् व्यक्तं पृथिव्याम् अनुसंचरन्ति इमं भौमं नरकं ते पतन्ति नावेक्षन्ते वर्षपूगाननेकान् //
*yayātiruvāca ūrdhvaṃ dehātkarmaṇo jṛmbhamāṇād vyaktaṃ pṛthivyām anusaṃcaranti imaṃ bhaumaṃ narakaṃ te patanti nāvekṣante varṣapūgānanekān //
Yayāti said: “After leaving the body, as their own karma swells into full force, they are manifestly driven to wander upon the earth; they fall into this earthly hell, and for many accumulated years they do not behold any relief or higher state.”}]}
FAQs
This verse is not about Pralaya; it focuses on post-death karmic consequence, describing a “bhauma naraka” (earthly hell) experienced due to ripened actions.
It frames ethical governance and household life through karma: harmful or unrighteous actions can bind one to prolonged suffering states, so a king/householder should uphold dharma, restraint, and just conduct to avoid such karmic downfall.
No Vastu or temple-ritual rule is stated here; the takeaway is ethical and soteriological—actions determine post-death experience—rather than architectural procedure.