Shloka 12
नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्
स्नुषां सुतां चापि गत्वा महाज्वाले निपात्यते अवमन्ता गुरूणां यो यश् चाक्रोष्टा नराधमः
snuṣāṃ sutāṃ cāpi gatvā mahājvāle nipātyate avamantā gurūṇāṃ yo yaś cākroṣṭā narādhamaḥ
He who, driven by depravity, violates even his daughter-in-law or his own daughter—who scorns elders and preceptors and hurls abuse at them—that lowest of men is cast into the great blazing fire of hell.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya in the Naraka-description section)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Sacred geography and the moral-ritual order of Bhārata, including karmic consequences (naraka) for adharma
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Guru-apacāra and incestuous/forbidden sexual violation are grave adharma leading to naraka, underscoring inviolable social and ritual boundaries.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Maintain strict ethical boundaries in sexuality and speech; cultivate reverence toward elders/teachers and repair harm through confession and disciplined conduct.
Vishishtadvaita: Dharma is service to the Lord’s order; violating elders and protected relations opposes the divine governance that sustains society.
FAQs
They function as moral cartography: by mapping specific acts to specific consequences, the text reinforces dharma as a cosmic law operating under the supreme order sustained by Vishnu.
Parāśara treats guru-nindā (reviling or dishonouring teachers/elders) as a foundational breach of dharma because it attacks the very channel of knowledge, discipline, and social-spiritual order.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the punishments presuppose a universe governed by an intelligible moral order—dharma and karma—ultimately resting in Vishnu as the supreme sustaining reality.