Shloka 11

Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments

Sanskrit

परपत्रेण पाट्यन्ते कस्मादेतेऽतिदुःखिताः ।

करम्भवालुकास्वेते पच्यन्ते तैलगोचराः ॥

Transliteration

parapatreṇa pāṭyante kasmād ete ’ti-duḥkhitāḥ / karambha-vālukāsv ete pacyante taila-gocarāḥ //

Translation

ये प्राणी इतने अत्यधिक कष्ट में क्यों हैं—इन्हें 'पत्रपत्र' (तलवार जैसे पत्तों) से क्यों काटा जा रहा है? और इन्हें क्षार और बालू में क्यों पकाया जा रहा है, तथा तेल में क्यों घुमाया जा रहा है?

Word by Word

• para-patreṇa: with a foreign/other leaf
• para-patreṇa: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + patra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (परं पत्रम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• pāṭyante: are cut / are slit
• pāṭyante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paṭ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), आत्मनेपद

• kasmāt: why / from what cause
• kasmāt: Hetu (हेतु/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• ete: these
• ete: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ati-duḥkhitāḥ: extremely miserable
• ati-duḥkhitāḥ: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (अव्यय-उपसर्गवत्) + duḥkhita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (अत्यन्तं दुःखिताः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• karambha-vālukāsu: in gruel and sand
• karambha-vālukāsu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karambha (प्रातिपदिक) + vālukā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्वसमास (करम्भश्च वालुकाश्च), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), बहुवचन

• ete: these
• ete: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• pacyante: are cooked / are tormented by heat
• pacyante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pac (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), आत्मनेपद

• taila-gocarāḥ: moving/lying in oil (oil-range)
• taila-gocarāḥ: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: taila (प्रातिपदिक) + gocara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (तैलस्य गोचराः/तैले गोचराः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speakers

• King to Yama’s messenger (observational questioning)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Yama

Key Themes

• Karmic retribution
• Naraka typology
• Violence and consequence

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Purāṇic hell-imagery functions as moral deterrent: cruelty, exploitation, and causing pain ‘returns’ as pain with analogous textures—cutting, burning, boiling.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Not a pañcalakṣaṇa core (like sarga/manvantara), but a dharma-oriented excursus illustrating karmaphala within the narrative frame.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Cutting’ and ‘cooking’ symbolize the soul being processed by its own tendencies (saṃskāras): sharpness (violence) and heat (anger/greed) mature into experiential suffering.