Shloka 13
नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्
वेददूषयिता यश् च वेदविक्रयकश् च यः अगम्यगामी यश् च स्यात् ते यान्ति लवणं द्विज
vedadūṣayitā yaś ca vedavikrayakaś ca yaḥ agamyagāmī yaś ca syāt te yānti lavaṇaṃ dvija
O twice-born one, those who defile the Veda, those who trade the Veda for gain, and those who go to the forbidden—these fall into the Salt Hell called Lavana.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya; addressing a dvija as part of the didactic frame)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Classification of sins and corresponding narakas; safeguarding Vedic sanctity and social-ritual prohibitions
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Śruti is not a commodity: defiling or selling the Veda and pursuing forbidden relations/actions violates sacred order and yields karmic descent into naraka.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Approach scripture with humility; avoid monetizing sacred teaching as mere trade; keep clear boundaries regarding ‘agamya’ prohibitions and integrity in learning.
Vishishtadvaita: Śruti is a pramāṇa revealing Nārāyaṇa; to corrupt it is to oppose the Lord’s self-disclosure and the dharmic means to bhakti.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
FAQs
It functions as a moral consequence: those who violate sacred authority (the Veda) or commit forbidden acts are said to experience a fitting, purifying retribution in a specific naraka named Lavaṇa.
By listing emblematic Kali-yuga transgressions—defiling revelation, turning scripture into commerce, and pursuing the prohibited—he shows how social and spiritual order collapses when sacred knowledge is treated as an object of exploitation rather than realization.
Even when not named in the verse, the Purana’s framework is Vaishnava: dharma and śāstra are upheld as expressions of the Supreme Lord’s order, and violations are portrayed as turning away from that sovereignty, producing karmic consequences.