Shloka 47
शूलेष्व् आरोप्यमाणानां व्याघ्रवक्त्रे प्रवेश्यताम् गृध्रैः संभक्ष्यमाणानां द्वीपिभिश् चोपभुज्यताम्
śūleṣv āropyamāṇānāṃ vyāghravaktre praveśyatām gṛdhraiḥ saṃbhakṣyamāṇānāṃ dvīpibhiś copabhujyatām
Ada yang dipacak pada lembing tajam; ada yang ditolak ke rahang harimau. Ada yang dikoyak dan dimakan burung hering; ada pula yang disambar dan dilahap harimau bintang—demikian buah karma sendiri masak menjadi derita di Naraka.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Consequences of sin, naraka-torments, and the mechanics of karmaphala after death
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: Naraka-sufferings manifest as the matured fruit of one’s deeds, emphasizing accountability and moral causation.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use fear of consequences as initial restraint (bhaya-hetu), then mature it into positive dharma and devotion.
Vishishtadvaita: Ethical order is upheld within the Lord’s sovereignty; karmic results are systematically dispensed rather than accidental.
FAQs
This verse uses vivid punishments to teach karmic causality—harmful actions produce corresponding suffering, reinforcing dharma as the stabilizing law of the universe.
Through concrete images of retribution: beings are impaled, forced into predators’ jaws, and devoured—symbolizing that one’s own deeds become the direct cause of one’s experience after death.
Even when Vishnu is not explicitly named, the Purana frames moral law and cosmic administration as part of a divinely ordered universe—where dharma and karmic results operate under the supreme reality that Vishnu ultimately embodies.