Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 16

Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)

Devanagari script

गोब्राह्णणाग्नयः स्पृष्टा यैरुच्छिष्टैः क्षपाचर क्षिप्यन्ते हि करास्तेषां तप्तसुम्भे सुदारुणे

Transliteration

gobrāhṇaṇāgnayaḥ spṛṣṭā yairucchiṣṭaiḥ kṣapācara kṣipyante hi karāsteṣāṃ taptasumbhe sudāruṇe

Translation

Ô rôdeur de la nuit (kṣapācara), ceux dont l’impureté des restes (ucchiṣṭa) vient toucher une vache, un brahmane ou le feu sacré—les mains de ces gens sont jetées dans un chaudron brûlant, d’une cruauté extrême.

Word by Word

• go-brāhmaṇa-agnayaḥ: cows, brāhmaṇas, and sacred fires
• go-brāhmaṇa-agnayaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (cows, brāhmaṇas, and fires)

• spṛṣṭāḥ: touched/defiled by touch
• spṛṣṭāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √spṛś (धातु) → spṛṣṭa (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; past passive participle (क्त), agreeing with go-brāhmaṇa-agnayaḥ

• yaiḥ: by whom
• yaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; relative pronoun

• ucchiṣṭaiḥ: with leftovers/impurity
• ucchiṣṭaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ucchiṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; ‘leftover/impure (food remnants)’

• kṣapā-cara: O night-roamer (rākṣasa)
• kṣapā-cara: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣapā (प्रातिपदिक) + cara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular; समासः—क्षपायां चरः (tatpuruṣa)

• kṣipyante: are thrown
• kṣipyante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣip (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (Present/लट्), Ātmanepada, 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural; passive/reflexive sense ‘are thrown’

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निश्चय/हेतु)

• karāḥ: hands
• karāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural; demonstrative pronoun

• tapta-sumbhe: in a heated furnace/cauldron
• tapta-sumbhe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapta (कृदन्त, √tap + क्त) + sumbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; समासः—तप्तः सुम्भः (heated furnace/cauldron)

• su-dāruṇe: very dreadful
• su-dāruṇe: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; adjective qualifying tapta-sumbhe

Speakers

• Not specified in the provided excerpt (likely within the Pulastya–Nārada dialogue framework typical of the Purāṇa
• but not confirmable from these verses alone)

Primary Deities

• Yama (implied via hell-punishment context)

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Śauca (purity rules)
• Karma and retribution
• Ritual propriety

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ritual and ethical discipline are treated as inseparable: careless impurity (ucchiṣṭa) becomes a moral fault when it pollutes protected sanctities—cow, brahmin, and sacrificial fire—thus generating severe karmic consequences.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is not sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa material; it aligns best with dharma-nirdeśa embedded within the Purāṇic narrative stream, i.e., an ethical-ritual instruction segment ancillary to vaṃśānucarita/ākhyāna sections.

What is the symbolic significance?

Hands symbolize agency and action; the punishment targeting hands teaches that impure actions (especially those violating sacred boundaries) deform the doer’s very capacity to act, reflecting a karmic ‘fit’ between deed and result.