Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 25
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
गोब्राह्मणार्कमग्निं च ये वै मेहन्ति मानवाः तेषां गुदेव चान्त्राणि विनिःकृन्तन्ति वायसाः
gobrāhmaṇārkamagniṃ ca ye vai mehanti mānavāḥ teṣāṃ gudeva cāntrāṇi viniḥkṛntanti vāyasāḥ
Those humans who urinate upon cows, Brahmins, the sun, and fire—crows tear out their anus and intestines as punishment.
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FAQs
The verse enforces reverence toward sanctified supports of dharma—cow (go), Brahmin (brāhmaṇa), fire (agni), and the sun (arka). It frames ritual/ethical impurity as a grave offense with severe consequences, emphasizing restraint, cleanliness, and non-contempt toward what sustains yajña and social-spiritual order.
This is best classified under Dharma/ācāra and pāpa-phala instruction, which aligns most closely with ancillary purāṇic material rather than the five core lakṣaṇas; if forced into a lakṣaṇa bucket, it is adjacent to 'dharma' portions often embedded within Vamśānucarita-era teachings, but it is not a direct sarga/pratisarga/vamśa account.
Cows and Brāhmaṇas symbolize nourishment and sacred knowledge; Agni and Sūrya symbolize witnesshood, purity, and the yajña-cosmos link. The visceral imagery (tearing intestines) functions as deterrence and as a symbolic 'expulsion' of internal impurity for one who outwardly violates sacred purity.