Shloka 18
Vaitaraṇī: Torments of the Sinful, Sins Enumerated, and the Vaitaraṇī Go-dāna Rite
एते वसन्ति सततं मा विचारं कृथाः क्वचित् / कृपणो नास्तिकः क्षुद्रः स तस्यां निवसेत्खग
ete vasanti satataṃ mā vicāraṃ kṛthāḥ kvacit / kṛpaṇo nāstikaḥ kṣudraḥ sa tasyāṃ nivasetkhaga
അവർ അവിടെ സദാ വസിക്കുന്നു—ഒരിക്കലും സംശയിക്കരുത്. കൃപണൻ, നാസ്തികൻ, ക്ഷുദ്രചിത്തൻ—അവൻ തീർച്ചയായും ആ അവസ്ഥ/സ്ഥാനത്തിൽ വസിക്കും, ഹേ ഖഗ (ഗരുഡ)!
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: Persistent inner dispositions (kṛpaṇatā, nāstikya, kṣudratā) anchor the jīva to painful states; do not doubt karmic certainty.
Vedantic Theme: Saṃskāra and vāsanā shape destiny; inner character is causal, not merely external ritual identity.
Application: Cultivate generosity, faith in moral causality (āstikya), and magnanimity; practice self-audit of motives and attitudes.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: assurances about naraka residences and certainty of Yama’s order (immediate context)
FAQs
This verse treats miserliness as a binding fault that leads one to an adverse post-death abode/condition, emphasizing dāna (charity) and generosity as protective dharma.
It indicates that specific moral qualities—like stinginess, denial of dharma (nāstikatā), and pettiness—determine where a being ‘dwells’ in the afterlife, reflecting karma-based allocation of post-mortem states.
Cultivate generosity, faith in ethical accountability, and largeness of mind; avoid habitual stinginess and contemptuous pettiness, since these traits are presented as karmically consequential.