Shloka 49

Devanagari script

नरके यानि दुःखानि पापहेतूद्भवानि वै प्राप्यन्ते नारकैर् विप्र तेषां संख्या न विद्यते

Transliteration

narake yāni duḥkhāni pāpahetūdbhavāni vai prāpyante nārakair vipra teṣāṃ saṃkhyā na vidyate

Translation

Wahai brāhmana, penderitaan di neraka yang lahir daripada sebab-sebab dosa dan dialami penghuni Naraka itu tidak terhitung; bilangannya tidak dapat diketahui.

Word by Word

• नरके: in hell
• नरके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

• यानि: which
• यानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/उद्देश्य), बहुवचन — Nominative plural (relative pronoun)

• दुःखानि: sufferings
• दुःखानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Nominative plural

• पापहेतूद्भवानि: arising from sinful causes
• पापहेतूद्भवानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप + हेतु + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Nominative plural; विशेषण (दुःखानि); समासः (पाप-हेतु-उद्भव) = पापहेतोः उद्भवानि

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक अव्यय — emphatic particle

• प्राप्यन्ते: are obtained/experienced
• प्राप्यन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु) उपसर्गः प्र-
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग — Present, 3rd person plural, passive

• नारकैः: by the denizens of hell
• नारकैः: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (कर्ता/करण), बहुवचन — Instrumental plural; कर्मणि प्रयोगे कर्तृवाचक-तृतीया

• विप्र: O Brahmin
• विप्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन — Vocative singular

• तेषाम्: of those (sufferings)
• तेषाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन — Genitive plural

• संख्या: number
• संख्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय — negation

• विद्यते: exists/is found
• विद्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद — Present, 3rd person singular, Ātmanepada

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya as 'vipra')

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Extent and variety of naraka sufferings arising from sinful causes

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Sufferings in Naraka, born of sinful causes, are innumerable—signaling that pāpa has endlessly varied repercussions.

Vedantic Theme: Karma

Application: Adopt continuous self-examination (svādhyāya), confession/atonement (prāyaścitta), and sustained dharmic habits rather than occasional virtue.

Vishishtadvaita: The moral universe is intelligible and administered; the diversity of karmaphala implies an ordered, law-governed cosmos under Īśvara.

Characters & Entities

• Naraka (hell realms)

FAQs

What is the significance of Naraka in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames Naraka as the karmic consequence of sin: sufferings arise from pāpa and are presented as innumerable, emphasizing moral accountability within cosmic order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the link between sin and suffering here?

He explicitly states that the pains of hell are “pāpa-hetūdbhava”—born from sinful causes—showing a cause-and-effect ethic where actions mature into corresponding experiences.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the teaching presumes a divinely ordered universe under the Supreme Reality—where dharma governs outcomes and karmic law operates within Vishnu’s sovereign cosmic order.