Shloka 8

Agnihotra, Seasonal Śrauta Duties, and the Authority of Śruti–Smṛti–Purāṇa

Devanagari script

तामिस्त्रमन्धतामिस्त्रं महारौरवरौरवौ / कुम्भीपाकं वैतरणीमसिपत्रवनं तथा

Transliteration

tāmistramandhatāmistraṃ mahārauravarauravau / kumbhīpākaṃ vaitaraṇīmasipatravanaṃ tathā

Translation

താമിസ്രം, അന്ധതാമിസ്രം, മഹാരൗരവം, റൗരവം; കൂടാതെ കുംഭീപാകം, വൈതരണി, അതുപോലെ അസിപത്രവനം (വാൾഇലകളുടെ കാട്) എന്നിവയും (നരകങ്ങൾ) ആകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• तामिस्रम्: Tāmisra (a hell)
• तामिस्रम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तामिस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• अन्धतामिस्रम्: Andhatāmisra (a hell)
• अन्धतामिस्रम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्ध-तामिस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रायः (अन्धं तामिस्रम्)

• महाराैरवः: Mahāraurava (a hell)
• महाराैरवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महā-रौरव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय (महान् रौरवः)

• रौरवः: Raurava (a hell)
• रौरवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रौरव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कुम्भीपाकम्: Kumbhīpāka (a hell)
• कुम्भीपाकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुम्भी-पाक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (कुम्भ्यां पाकः/कुम्भीवत् पाकः)

• वैतरणीम्: Vaitaraṇī (a hell/river)
• वैतरणीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैतरणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• असिपत्रवनम्: Asipatravana (forest of sword-leaves)
• असिपत्रवनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असि-पत्र-वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (असिपत्राणां वनम्)

• तथा: and also
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपसंहारार्थक (also, and so)

Speaker

Primary narrator (Purāṇic narration, traditionally Sūta speaking to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Characters & Entities

• Tāmisra
• Andhatāmisra
• Mahāraurava
• Raurava
• Kumbhīpāka
• Vaitaraṇī
• Asipatravana

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

Indirectly: by listing hell-realms as karmic results, it implies the Ātman is distinct from suffering and transmigratory states; bondage and pain arise from karma and adharma, not from the Self’s intrinsic nature.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yogic technique is stated in this verse; its practical thrust is ethical—restraint (yama), dharmic conduct, and purification of action to avoid destructive karmic destinations, which the Kurma Purana later integrates with devotional and Pāśupata-oriented discipline.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

It does not name Śiva or Viṣṇu directly; however, within the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, the warning about narakas functions as a shared dharmic framework upheld by the one Supreme Lord revered through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava idioms.