Shloka 26
आत्यन्तिक-लयहेतुः: तापत्रय-विवेचनम् तथा ‘भगवान्/वासुदेव’ शब्दार्थः
Threefold Suffering and the Path to Final Liberation; Meaning of Bhagavān and Vāsudeva
नरकं कर्मणां लोपात् फलम् आहुर् महर्षयः तस्माद् अज्ञानिनां दुःखम् इह चामुत्र चोत्तमम्
narakaṃ karmaṇāṃ lopāt phalam āhur maharṣayaḥ tasmād ajñānināṃ duḥkham iha cāmutra cottamam
The great seers declare that hell is the fruit of abandoning one’s ordained duties. Therefore, for the ignorant, sorrow becomes supreme—here in this world and in the world beyond.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Consequences of abandoning prescribed duty (karma) and the resulting suffering here and hereafter
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Neglect of one’s ordained duties (svakarma) yields naraka as its fruit, and ignorance ensures suffering both in this life and after death.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Sustain daily dharma—responsibilities, restraint, and worship—while seeking right knowledge to avoid self-harming neglect.
Vishishtadvaita: Dharma is meaningful because the self is a real mode of Brahman (Vishnu) and is accountable within His moral order (niyati).
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
In this verse, Naraka is presented as a karmic consequence—specifically the result of neglecting prescribed duties—showing that moral order governs both earthly life and the afterlife.
Parāśara links ignorance with compounded suffering: the unknowing incur sorrow not only in this life but also after death, because they fail to discern and uphold dharma.
Even when not named, the Vishnu Purana frames such karmic law as part of Vishnu’s sustaining order—dharma operates as the divine governance by which beings experience the fruits of action and omission.