Shloka 43
कल्माषपाद-शाप-कारणम्
Cause of Kalmāṣapāda’s Niyoga under a Curse
तत् क्षुधार्तर्निरासहारै: शवभूतैस्तथा नरैः । अभवत् प्रेतराजस्य पुरं प्रेतेरिवावृतम्
tat kṣudhārtair nirāhāraiḥ śavabhūtaiḥ tathā naraiḥ | abhavat pretarājasya puraṃ preter ivāvṛtam ||
Entonces aquella ciudad se llenó de hombres atormentados por el hambre: sin alimento, reducidos al estado de cadáveres. Abarrotada de tales esqueletos vivientes, parecía la ciudad de Yama, señor de los difuntos, como si estuviera cercada por espíritus.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
When basic sustenance fails, human beings easily slip from dharmic restraint into a condition resembling death itself; the verse uses stark imagery to warn that social order and ethical conduct depend upon responsible governance and the protection of life’s necessities.
Vasiṣṭha describes a city overwhelmed by famine: people, starving and without food, become like corpses. The city’s appearance is compared to Yama’s abode, as though encircled by spirits, emphasizing the severity of the calamity.