Shloka 31

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

Devanagari script

तथैव पापान्य् एतानि तथान्यानि सहस्रशः भुज्यन्ते यानि पुरुषैर् नरकान्तरगोचरैः

Transliteration

tathaiva pāpāny etāni tathānyāni sahasraśaḥ bhujyante yāni puruṣair narakāntaragocaraiḥ

Translation

In the same way, these sins—and countless others—are endured and paid for by human beings as they pass through the various hells, each suited to the particular wrongdoing.

Word by Word

• तथा: thus/in the same way
• तथा: Prakara (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (manner adverb)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphasis)

• पापानि: sins/evil acts
• पापानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• एतानि: these
• एतानि: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier of पापानि)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Prakara (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय

• अन्यानि: other
• अन्यानि: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (elliptic: other [sins])

• सहस्रशः: by thousands
• सहस्रशः: Sankhya/Measure (Quantifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक-अव्यय (by thousands)

• भुज्यन्ते: are experienced/suffered
• भुज्यन्ते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense: are experienced)

• यानि: which (things)
• यानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन

• पुरुषैः: by men
• पुरुषैः: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नरकान्तरगोचरैः: who move within/interact with the inner regions of hell
• नरकान्तरगोचरैः: Visheshana (Qualifier of पुरुषैः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नरक+अन्तर+गोचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (नरकान्तरस्य गोचराः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Generalization: innumerable sins and their tailored experiences across various hells

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Suffering in hells is not arbitrary: each wrongdoing is ‘consumed’ as its fitting result as beings traverse distinct punitive realms.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Interpret life and afterlife through moral causality: cultivate repentance, restitution, and sustained virtue to avoid harmful karmic momentum.

Vishishtadvaita: The verse implies a purposeful, intelligible moral cosmos under the Lord’s sovereignty, aligning justice (niyama) with compassion through exhaustible karmic penalties.

Characters & Entities

• Humans (puruṣa)
• Naraka (hell realms)

FAQs

What is the significance of Naraka in the Vishnu Purana?

Naraka functions as a karmic realm where specific sins are exhaustively experienced, reinforcing dharma by showing that moral actions have precise consequences.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the experience of sin’s results?

He presents punishment as differentiated—people “move through” various hells according to the nature of their misdeeds, implying a structured, law-like moral universe.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames karmic order as part of the Supreme Lord’s sovereignty: cosmic justice operates within the divinely sustained universe.