Shloka 15
नरकलोकमार्गयमदूतस्वरूपवर्णनम् / Description of the Path to Naraka and the Nature of Yama’s Messengers
क्वचिद्वालुकया व्याप्तमाकंठांतः प्रवेशया । क्वचिद्दुष्टाम्बुना व्याप्तं क्वचिच्च करिषाग्निना
kvacidvālukayā vyāptamākaṃṭhāṃtaḥ praveśayā | kvacidduṣṭāmbunā vyāptaṃ kvacicca kariṣāgninā
ചിലിടങ്ങളിൽ മണലാൽ മൂടപ്പെട്ടു കഴുത്തുവരെയായി താഴ്ന്നുപോകേണ്ടിവന്നു; ചിലിടങ്ങളിൽ ദുർഗന്ധജലത്തിൽ മുങ്ങിപ്പോയി; മറ്റിടങ്ങളിൽ കത്തുന്ന ചാണകാഗ്നിയിൽ പീഡിതരായി।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
The verse uses vivid images of being smothered, drowned, and burned to illustrate the painful consequences of bondage (pāśa) created by karma and ignorance; it implicitly points the seeker toward refuge in Pati—Lord Shiva—as the liberator who grants purification and release.
Such descriptions of suffering function as a contrast to Shiva’s grace: devotion to Saguna Shiva through Linga-worship, mantra, and disciplined conduct is presented in the Shiva Purana as a concrete means to overcome karmic afflictions and move toward Shiva-realization.
The takeaway is to reduce karmic bondage through Shaiva sādhana—regular japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), worship of the Shiva-linga with purity and restraint, and yogic self-control—so the mind does not fall into states symbolized by these torments.