Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 56
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
पापीयसां तद्वदिह कृघ्नाः सर्वेषु पापेषु वनशाचरेन्द्र ब्रह्मघ्नगोघ्नादिषु निष्कृतिर्हि विद्येतत नैवास्य तु दुष्टचारिणः न निष्कृतिश्चास्ति कृतघ्नवृत्तेः सुहृत्कृतं नाशयतो ऽब्दकोटिभिः
pāpīyasāṃ tadvadiha kṛghnāḥ sarveṣu pāpeṣu vanaśācarendra brahmaghnagoghnādiṣu niṣkṛtirhi vidyetata naivāsya tu duṣṭacāriṇaḥ na niṣkṛtiścāsti kṛtaghnavṛtteḥ suhṛtkṛtaṃ nāśayato 'bdakoṭibhiḥ
Demikian juga, wahai tuan para penghuni rimba, orang yang tidak mengenang budi adalah yang paling buruk antara semua pendosa. Bagi dosa seperti membunuh brahmana atau membunuh lembu, memang diajarkan adanya penebusan; tetapi bagi pelaku jahat yang hidup dengan sifat tidak tahu berterima kasih—yang memusnahkan kebaikan yang dilakukan oleh pemberi jasa—tiada penebusan, walaupun berlalu puluhan juta tahun.
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FAQs
The text treats ingratitude (kṛtaghnatā) as a uniquely corrosive vice: it negates social and moral reciprocity (ṛṇa/obligation) and thus undermines dharma itself. Hence it is rhetorically placed beyond ordinary prāyaścitta, emphasizing that ethical character and loyalty to benefactors are foundational.
This is primarily a dharma/ācāra-oriented instruction embedded in narrative, aligning most closely with ancillary purāṇic teaching rather than the core five marks; secondarily it supports ‘dharma’ exposition often accompanying vaṃśānucarita or manvantara narratives, but it is not itself sarga/pratisarga.
By stating that even grave transgressions have expiation while ingratitude does not, the verse symbolically elevates gratitude as the glue of cosmic and social order—implying that betrayal of received good is a betrayal of ṛta/dharma, not merely a personal fault.