Shloka 31

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

Sanskrit

भुञ्जानोऽनेकसंसारसम्भवानिह तिष्ठति ।

जातिदेशावरुद्धानि ज्ञानाज्ञानफलानि च ॥

Transliteration

bhuñjāno 'nekasaṃsāra-sambhavān iha tiṣṭhati / jāti-deśāvaruddhāni jñānājñāna-phalāni ca

Translation

അനവധി സംസാരചക്രങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നുയർന്ന ഫലങ്ങൾ അനുഭവിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് ജീവൻ ഇവിടെ നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു; ജ്ഞാനവും അജ്ഞാനവും നൽകുന്ന ഫലങ്ങൾ ജന്മം (ജാതി/വർണം)യും ദേശപ്രദേശവും അനുസരിച്ച് നിയന്ത്രിതമാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• भुञ्जानः: enjoying/experiencing
• भुञ्जानः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्), परस्मैपदी; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘enjoying/experiencing’

• अनेकसंसारसम्भवानि: born of many cycles of existence
• अनेकसंसारसम्भवानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aneka+saṃsāra+sambhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘arising from many transmigrations’

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (here/in this world)

• तिष्ठति: remains/stands
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• जातिदेशावरुद्धानि: confined by birth and region
• जातिदेशावरुद्धानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāti+deśa+avaruddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘restricted/limited by birth and place’; अवरुद्ध = past passive participle of अव+रुध्

• ज्ञानाज्ञानफलानि: fruits of knowledge and ignorance
• ज्ञानाज्ञानफलानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna+ajñāna+phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्व (jñānājñāna) + तत्पुरुष (phala) ‘fruits of knowledge and ignorance’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (and)

Speakers

• Unclear from provided excerpt (later addresses 'rājan')

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Saṃsāra
• Karma
• Epistemic merit (knowledge/ignorance)
• Social/geo constraints

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

One’s present life is a nexus of many past karmas; capacities and outcomes (including those tied to knowledge/ignorance) manifest within the concrete limits of birth and environment.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ethical-philosophical instruction; not sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita.

What is the esoteric significance?

The verse hints that ‘knowledge’ is not merely intellectual but karmically conditioned; embodiment and locale become the ‘field’ (kṣetra) where latent tendencies express.