Shloka 10

नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्

Devanagari script

राजन्यवैश्यहा ताले तथैव गुरुतल्पगः तप्तकुम्भे स्वसागामी हन्ति राजभटांश् च यः

Transliteration

rājanyavaiśyahā tāle tathaiva gurutalpagaḥ taptakumbhe svasāgāmī hanti rājabhaṭāṃś ca yaḥ

Translation

The slayer of a Kṣatriya or a Vaiśya is confined to the hell called Tāla; likewise is he who violates the bed of his teacher. He who approaches his own sister is tormented in Tapta-kumbha, the heated cauldron; and so too is he who kills the king’s servants.

Word by Word

• राजन्यवैश्यहा: slayer of kṣatriyas and vaiśyas
• राजन्यवैश्यहा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वैश्य (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु) → -हा (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (राजन्य-वैश्य) इति द्वन्द्व-पूर्वपदं, ततः उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (राजन्यवैश्ययोः हन्ता)

• ताले: in Tāla (a hell)
• ताले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; नरकविशेष-नाम (locative)

• तथा: thus / likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण

• एव: indeed / just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphasis)

• गुरुतल्पगः: one who violates the teacher’s bed (adultery with guru’s wife)
• गुरुतल्पगः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + तल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गुरोः तल्पं गच्छति/सेवते)

• तप्तकुम्भे: in the heated cauldron
• तप्तकुम्भे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, तप् धातोः क्त) + कुम्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (तप्तः कुम्भः)

• स्वसागामी: one who goes to (has intercourse with) his sister
• स्वसागामी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वसा (प्रातिपदिक) + गामिन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; गम् धातोः णिनि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्वसुः गामी)

• हन्ति: kills
• हन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• राजभटान्: king’s soldiers
• राजभटान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजभट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (राज्ञः भटाः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Specific narakas assigned to violence against varṇas, sexual transgression against guru, incest, and attacks on royal order.

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Killing protected societal pillars (kṣatriya/vaiśya, royal servants) and violating the guru’s bed or incest lead to specific hells, underscoring dharma as social-cosmic order.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Uphold non-violence and sexual ethics; respect trust-bound relationships (teacher/student, family); reject violence against public servants and institutions.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma includes varṇāśrama and relational duties within the Lord’s governed cosmos; violating these real bonds produces real karmic consequences.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Kshatriya (Rājanya)
• Guru
• King (Rāja)
• Royal guards/servants (Rāja-bhaṭa)

FAQs

What is the significance of Naraka (hells) like Tāla and Tapta-kumbha in the Vishnu Purana?

They function as moral-cartographic teaching tools: specific destructive acts against social and sacred order are mapped to specific torments, emphasizing karma’s precision and the necessity of dharma.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the link between social order and sin in this passage?

By grouping crimes against varṇas, the guru, kinship boundaries, and the king’s agents, he frames dharma as an interlocking order—harm to any pillar of it ripens into severe karmic consequence.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named, the teaching presumes a Vishnu-governed cosmic order where dharma and karma are expressions of supreme sovereignty—ethical law reflecting the sustaining power of the Supreme Reality.