Shloka 27
नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्
यान्त्य् एते द्विज तत्रैव यश् चापाकेषु वह्निदः
yānty ete dvija tatraiva yaś cāpākeṣu vahnidaḥ
O twice-born, these men go to that very same realm; and so too does he who kindles the sacred fire among the outcastes, the cāṇḍālas.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Consequences of specific transgressions and their corresponding post-mortem realms (naraka-phala)
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: Ritual actions that violate dharmic boundaries (such as misplacing sacred fire among those outside prescribed rites) lead to the same punitive post-mortem realm as other comparable transgressions.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat sacred responsibilities (especially ritual and communal duties) with integrity; avoid instrumentalizing religion in ways that break ethical commitments.
Vishishtadvaita: Karma’s fruits operate within Bhagavān’s moral order (niyati), showing a governed universe where divine law coordinates action and result.
FAQs
This verse emphasizes that specific transgressive acts lead to definite post-death destinations, reinforcing a moral universe governed by orderly karma-phala under Vishnu’s cosmic rule.
Parāśara lists it alongside other condemnable actions and states that the doer reaches the same adverse realm as those sinners—marking it as a serious breach of prescribed conduct in the chapter’s ethical taxonomy.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the teaching presumes Vishnu as the supreme governor of dharma and the dispenser of karmic results, making ethical order part of his sustaining sovereignty.