Vamana Purana — Harihara Non-Duality, Shloka 39

Harihara Non-Duality and the Revelation of Sadasiva to the Ganas

Devanagari script

व्रजन्ति नरकं घोरं इत्येवं परिवादिनः अतोर्ऽथं न क्षिपाम्यद्य भवतो नरके ऽद्भुते

Transliteration

vrajanti narakaṃ ghoraṃ ityevaṃ parivādinaḥ ator'thaṃ na kṣipāmyadya bhavato narake 'dbhute

Translation

«Así van los calumniadores al terrible infierno», dirá la gente. Por eso, hoy no os arrojaré a ese infierno maravilloso, es decir, extraordinario.

Speakers

• Same speaker continuing the admonitory reflection; speaking to a respected ‘bhavat’ (you)
• indicating a direct address within the narrative dialogue.

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Hara)

Key Themes

• Consequences of slander
• Compassion/forbearance (withholding punishment)
• Moral causality
• Didactic interruption of violence
• Naraka as deterrent

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why does the speaker say ‘I will not cast you into hell’—is hell something a deity/person can ‘throw’ someone into?

Purāṇic idiom often personifies cosmic justice: powerful beings (or the moral order they represent) are described as ‘casting’ offenders into naraka. Here it functions as a dramatic way to say: ‘I will not punish you in the manner slanderers deserve.’

What does ‘adbhuta’ add to ‘naraka’?

It intensifies the threat by portraying the punishment as exceptional or astonishing—either unusually severe or remarkable—serving as a rhetorical deterrent against parivāda (defamation).

Is the verse advocating leniency toward wrongdoing?

It is not excusing wrongdoing; it highlights awareness of the sin of slander and the speaker’s decision to avoid becoming an example of that sin, implying self-restraint and ethical consistency.