Shloka 52
The Account of Mohinī
Mohinī-upākhyāna
तलानि चापि दैत्याद्यैराकाशः पक्षिपूर्वकैः । नाकः सुकृतिभिर्जीवैर्नरकाः पापकर्मभिः ॥ ५२ ॥
talāni cāpi daityādyairākāśaḥ pakṣipūrvakaiḥ | nākaḥ sukṛtibhirjīvairnarakāḥ pāpakarmabhiḥ || 52 ||
The Talās, the nether regions, are inhabited by Daityas and the like; the sky is occupied by winged beings such as birds. Nāka, heaven, is attained by living beings endowed with merit, while the hells are reached by those whose deeds are sinful.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta (peace)
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka (fear)
FAQs
It frames the universe as a moral cosmos: realms correspond to the dominant nature of beings and, for humans, to karma—merit leads to heavenly experience while sin leads to painful hellish consequence.
While not naming bhakti directly, it supports a core bhakti ethic: righteous, God-aligned conduct (sukṛti) elevates the jīva, whereas pāpa obstructs spiritual progress—thus devotion is safeguarded by dharma and purified action.
The verse mainly teaches karma-phala (ethical causality) rather than a specific Vedanga; practically, it reinforces dharma-based conduct and ritual propriety as means to accumulate sukṛti and avoid pāpa.