Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 7

Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata

Devanagari script

राजभागहरं मूढं राजजायानिषेवणम् राज्ये त्वहितकारित्वं सप्तमं निरयं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

rājabhāgaharaṃ mūḍhaṃ rājajāyāniṣevaṇam rājye tvahitakāritvaṃ saptamaṃ nirayaṃ smṛtam

Translation

王の取り分（租税・王権の分）を盗む愚者、王妃に交わる者、国の安寧に背いて行う者——これが第七の地獄（ニラヤ）として記憶される。

Word by Word

• rāja-bhāga-haram: stealing the king’s due/tax
• rāja-bhāga-haram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक) + hara (कृदन्त; √hṛ हरति)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (राज्ञः भागं हरति इति)

• mūḍham: deluded, foolish
• mūḍham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūḍha (कृदन्त; √muh मुह्यति)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• rāja-jāyā-niṣevaṇam: consorting with the king’s wife
• rāja-jāyā-niṣevaṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja (प्रातिपदिक) + jāyā (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣevaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √sev सेवते)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (राज्ञः जायायाः निषेवणम्)

• rājye: in the kingdom
• rājye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरणम्

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपातः (contrast/emphasis)

• ahita-kāritvam: doing harm; harmful conduct
• ahita-kāritvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahita (प्रातिपदिक) + kāritva (प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ कृ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अहितं करोति इति)

• saptamam: seventh
• saptamam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saptama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषणम्

• nirayam: hell
• nirayam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• smṛtam: is declared/remembered
• smṛtam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛta (कृदन्त; √smṛ स्मरति), कर्मणि भूतकृदन्त
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः—‘(इदं) स्मृतम्’ = ‘is said/remembered’

Speakers

• Narrator/teacher voice within the Purāṇic dialogue (didactic enumeration of state-related sins and their naraka result).

Primary Deities

• Yama (implied)

Key Themes

• Royal dharma and social order
• Tax ethics and public trust
• Sexual transgression (paradāra)
• Treason and harm to the polity
• Karmic consequence through naraka

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are these three acts treated together?

They are all violations of ‘rājadharma’ (the moral-legal order centered on the king/state): stealing public revenue, violating the royal household, and harming the kingdom’s welfare. Purāṇic ethics often treats such acts as high social crimes because they destabilize collective security and dharma.

Is ‘rājabhāga’ strictly a tax?

Primarily yes—the king’s lawful share of produce/wealth (tax, tribute, or assessed portion). In broader dharma usage it can include any due owed to the state or sovereign authority.

What does ‘ahitakāritvaṃ rājye’ imply in practical terms?

It can range from sabotage of public works and fomenting disorder to betrayal in governance—any conduct that intentionally produces ‘ahita’ (harm) to the realm, not merely private wrongdoing.