Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 26
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
स्वपोषणपरो यस्तु परित्यजति मानवः पुत्रभृत्यकलत्रादिबन्धुवर्गमकिञ्चनम् दुर्भिक्षे संभ्रमे चापि स श्वभोज्ये निपात्यते
svapoṣaṇaparo yastu parityajati mānavaḥ putrabhṛtyakalatrādibandhuvargamakiñcanam durbhikṣe saṃbhrame cāpi sa śvabhojye nipātyate
जो मनुष्य केवल अपने पालन-पोषण में तत्पर रहकर, दुर्भिक्ष और घबराहट के समय भी, निर्धन पुत्र, सेवक, पत्नी आदि परिजनों को त्याग देता है, वह ‘श्वभोज्य’ नामक नरक/दशा में गिराया जाता है।
{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Gṛhastha life is defined by responsibility, not mere survival. In hardship, dharma intensifies: abandoning those who rely on you (children, spouse, dependents, kin) is treated as a grave moral failure. The verse promotes solidarity, protection of the vulnerable, and sacrifice of selfishness.
Like many purāṇic nīti passages, it is an instructional dharma segment rather than a core pancalakṣaṇa narrative. It functions as ethical codification embedded within purāṇic discourse (upadeśa), not as sarga/pratisarga/vamśa/vamśānucarita/manvantara description.
‘Śvabhojya’ (dog-food) symbolizes loss of human dignity and social-personal status due to betrayal of dharma. Dogs represent scavenging and abandonment; the punishment mirrors the offender’s own abandonment of dependents.