Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 6

Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata

Devanagari script

यन्त्रः फलादिहरणं यमनं योगनाशनम् यानयुग्यस्य हरणं षष्ठमुक्तं नृपाचनम्

Transliteration

yantraḥ phalādiharaṇaṃ yamanaṃ yoganāśanam yānayugyasya haraṇaṃ ṣaṣṭhamuktaṃ nṛpācanam

Translation

The hell called “Yantra” is for stealing fruits and the like; “Yamana” is for destroying another’s yoga (spiritual discipline or means of livelihood); and “Yānayugya-haraṇa” is for the theft of conveyances and draught-animals. The sixth hell is said to be “Nṛpācana”.

Word by Word

• yantraḥ: a device; instrument (of torture)
• yantraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• phalādi-haraṇam: stealing fruits and the like
• phalādi-haraṇam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject, coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala + ādi + haraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (फलादीनां हरणम् = stealing fruits etc.)

• yamanam: restraint; torment
• yamanam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject, coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yam (धातु) + ana (प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भाववाचक कृदन्त (यमनम् = restraining/tormenting)

• yoganāśanam: destruction of yoga/union (spiritual practice)
• yoganāśanam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject, coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoga + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (योगस्य नाशनम्)

• yānayugyasya: of a draft-animal (fit for a vehicle)
• yānayugyasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāna + yugya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (यानस्य युग्यः = fit for harnessing to a vehicle; draft-animal)

• haraṇam: abduction; taking away
• haraṇam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject, coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛ (धातु) + ana (प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भाववाचक कृदन्त (हरणम् = taking away)

• ṣaṣṭham: sixth
• ṣaṣṭham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक विशेषण

• uktam: is said; is called
• uktam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि (is said/called)

• nṛpācanam: Nṛpācana (name of a hell)
• nṛpācanam: Karta (कर्ता/Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa + ācana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (proper name of a hell)

Speakers

• Narrator/teacher voice within the Purāṇic dialogue (chapter context: instruction on sins and their corresponding narakas).

Primary Deities

• Yama (implied as lord of narakas)

Key Themes

• Karma and retribution
• Ethics of property and livelihood
• Protection of spiritual practice (yoga)
• Social order and deterrence through naraka taxonomy

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What kinds of wrongdoing are grouped together in this verse?

The verse clusters ‘appropriation’ harms: petty theft of produce (phalādi-haraṇa), theft of transport resources (yāna/yugya), and a more subtle harm—undermining another’s ‘yoga’, i.e., sabotaging spiritual discipline or an established beneficial arrangement/means.

Does ‘yoga-nāśana’ only mean disrupting meditation?

Not necessarily. In Purāṇic dharma usage, yoga can denote spiritual discipline, but also a ‘means/connection/arrangement’. Thus yoga-nāśana can include obstructing vows, rites, study, or even deliberately ruining someone’s settled livelihood-supporting arrangement when framed as their ‘yoga’.

Why is Nṛpācana mentioned as ‘the sixth’ without an explicit sin here?

The śloka appears to be part of a running catalogue where some narakas are paired with sins and others are referenced by ordinal position. Nṛpācana is identified as the sixth in the sequence; its detailed cause may be given in adjacent verses or earlier/later in the chapter’s list.