Shloka 24

नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्

Devanagari script

मधुहा ग्रामहन्ता च याति वैतरणीं नरः

Transliteration

madhuhā grāmahantā ca yāti vaitaraṇīṃ naraḥ

Translation

જે મધુ (અને તેના આધાર) નાશ કરે અને જે ગામનો વિનાશ કરે—એવો મનુષ્ય વૈતરણীতে પ્રવેશે છે.

Word by Word

मधुहाhoney-stealer; destroyer of honey (beehives)

ग्रामहन्ताdestroyer of a village

चand

यातिgoes

वैतरणीम्the Vaitaraṇī (river of hell)

नरःa man

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

Maitreya

Vaitaraṇī

FAQs

What is the significance of Vaitaraṇī in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, Vaitaraṇī functions as a punitive passage associated with severe wrongdoing, marking the soul’s encounter with karmic retribution for destructive acts.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the karmic weight of harming society and nature here?

By pairing “destroying honey” with “destroying a village,” Parāśara frames both ecological devastation and social violence as grave adharma that leads to harsh afterlife consequences.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the Purana’s ethic assumes a Vishnu-governed cosmos where dharma is upheld and karma unfailingly yields results, reinforcing divine sovereignty over moral order.