Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 19

Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)

Devanagari script

बद्धाङ्घ्रयस्ते विगडैर्लोहैर्वाह्निप्रतापितैः क्षिप्यन्ते रौरवे घोरे ह्याजानुपरिदाहिनः

Transliteration

baddhāṅghrayaste vigaḍairlohairvāhnipratāpitaiḥ kṣipyante raurave ghore hyājānuparidāhinaḥ

Translation

ସେମାନଙ୍କ ପାଦ ଅଗ୍ନିରେ ତପ୍ତ କରାଯାଇଥିବା ଲୋହାର ବେଡ଼ିରେ ବାନ୍ଧାଯାଏ; ସେମାନେ ଘୋର ‘ରୌରବ’ ନରକରେ ନିକ୍ଷିପ୍ତ ହୁଅନ୍ତି, ଯେଉଁଠାରେ ଘୁଁଟି ପର୍ଯ୍ୟନ୍ତ ସବୁଦିଗରୁ ଦହନ ହୁଏ।

Word by Word

• baddha-aṅghrayaḥ: those whose feet are bound
• baddha-aṅghrayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: baddha (कृदन्त, √bandh + क्त) + aṅghri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; बहुव्रीहिः—बद्धौ अङ्घ्री यस्य (whose feet are bound)

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• vigaḍaiḥ: with shackles
• vigaḍaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vigaḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; ‘fetters/shackles’

• lohaiḥ: with iron
• lohaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural

• vahni-pratāpitaiḥ: heated by fire
• vahni-pratāpitaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक) + pratāpita (कृदन्त, √tap + णिच् + क्त)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; adjective qualifying lohaiḥ; समासः—वह्निना प्रतापित (heated by fire)

• kṣipyante: are thrown
• kṣipyante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣip (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (Present/लट्), Ātmanepada, 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural; passive sense ‘are thrown’

• raurave: in Raurava (hell)
• raurave: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raurava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; name of a hell

• ghore: terrible
• ghore: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; qualifying raurave

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निश्चय)

• ā-jānu-paridāhinaḥ: burning all around up to the knees
• ā-jānu-paridāhinaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā (उपसर्ग) + jānu (प्रातिपदिक) + paridāhin (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त from pari-√dah)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; अव्ययीभावः—आजानु (up to the knees) + परिदाहिन् ‘burning all around’; qualifying te

Speakers

• Narrative frame likely Pulastya → Nārada (common Vāmana Purāṇa dialogue layer); specific speaker not explicit in the excerpt

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Karmaphala
• Naraka
• Ethics
• Purāṇic cosmology

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Actions have inevitable consequences (karmaphala). The verse uses vivid punitive imagery to cultivate moral restraint and reinforce accountability—particularly that harmful or adharmic conduct leads to suffering proportionate to the deed.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This fits most closely under secondary creation/cosmological description (often grouped with sarga/pratisarga material in Purāṇic composition) and didactic dharma-kathana; it is not vamśānucarita but an ethical-cosmological excursus.

What is the symbolic significance?

Heated iron fetters symbolize self-forged bondage: one’s own deeds become the ‘chains’ that drag the soul into painful states. The ‘up to the knees’ burning emphasizes inescapability and totalizing consequence rather than a literal anatomical focus.