Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 40
Naraka-varṇana: The Hellish Planets and the Karmic Logic of Punishment
भूद्वीपवर्षसरिदद्रिनभ:समुद्र- पातालदिङ्नरकभागणलोकसंस्था । गीता मया तव नृपाद्भुतमीश्वरस्य स्थूलं वपु: सकलजीवनिकायधाम ॥ ४० ॥ तस्मात् सङ्कीर्तनं विष्णोर्जगन्मङ्गलमंहसाम् । महतामपि कौरव्य विद्ध्यैकान्तिकनिष्कृतम् ॥ ३१ ॥
bhū-dvīpa-varṣa-sarid-adri-nabhaḥ-samudra- pātāla-diṅ-naraka-bhāgaṇa-loka-saṁsthā gītā mayā tava nṛpādbhutam īśvarasya sthūlaṁ vapuḥ sakala-jīva-nikāya-dhāma
Ô roi, je t’ai décrit la terre, les autres systèmes planétaires, leurs régions, rivières et montagnes, le ciel, les océans, les mondes inférieurs, les directions, les mondes infernaux et les étoiles. Tout cela constitue le virāṭ-vapu, l’admirable forme matérielle et gigantesque du Seigneur, sur laquelle s’appuie l’ensemble des êtres vivants.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Twenty-sixth Chapter, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “A Description of the Hellish Planets.”
FAQs
This verse states that the Lord’s gross universal form contains all cosmic arrangements—continents, oceans, directions, subterranean realms, hells, luminaries, and planetary systems—serving as the comprehensive abode of all beings.
In Canto 5 Chapter 26, Śukadeva explains the consequences of karma and the structure of the cosmos; by framing it as the Lord’s universal form, he connects moral responsibility and cosmology to remembrance of the Supreme.
It cultivates humility and accountability—seeing all realms and outcomes within the Lord’s order—encouraging ethical living and steady remembrance of God beyond narrow material identity.