Vamana Purana — Sukesha's Boon & Twelve Dharmas, Shloka 56

Sukesha’s Boon, the Twelve Dharmas of Beings, and the Cosmography of the Seven Dvipas with the Twenty-One Hells

Devanagari script

नमकं तप्तकुम्भं च दशमं कूटशाल्मलिः करपत्रस्तथैवोक्तस्तथान्यः श्वानभोजनः

Transliteration

namakaṃ taptakumbhaṃ ca daśamaṃ kūṭaśālmaliḥ karapatrastathaivoktastathānyaḥ śvānabhojanaḥ

Translation

‘ନମକ’ ଓ ‘ତପ୍ତକୁମ୍ଭ’ ନାମକ ନରକମାନେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଉକ୍ତ। ଦଶମଟି ‘କୂଟଶାଲ୍ମଲି’। ‘କରପତ୍ର’ ମଧ୍ୟ ଏହିପରି ଉଲ୍ଲେଖିତ, ଏବଂ ଅନ୍ୟ ଏକ ‘ଶ୍ୱାନଭୋଜନ’ (ନରକ) ଅଛି।

Word by Word

• नमकम्: Namaka (a hell)
• नमकम्: कर्म/सूची (listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नरकनाम

• तप्त-कुम्भम्: Taptakumbha (heated cauldron)
• तप्त-कुम्भम्: कर्म/सूची (listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तप्त (कृदन्त, √तप् धातु) + कुम्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नाम = ‘heated pot/cauldron’

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• दशमम्: tenth
• दशमम्: विशेषण (ordinal)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (agreeing with preceding neuter name)

• कूट-शाल्मलिः: Kūṭaśālmali (thorny silk-cotton tree hell)
• कूट-शाल्मलिः: कर्ता/सूची (listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूट (प्रातिपदिक) + शाल्मलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नरकनाम

• कर-पत्रः: Karapatra (hand-leaf/razor-leaf hell)
• कर-पत्रः: कर्ता/सूची (listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर (प्रातिपदिक) + पत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नरकनाम

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: सम्बन्ध (adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण = ‘thus/likewise’

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: सम्बन्ध (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis)

• उक्तः: is said/called
• उक्तः: क्रिया-सम्बन्ध (predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘said/called’ (predicate participle)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: सम्बन्ध (adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण

• अन्यः: another
• अन्यः: विशेषण (of श्वानभोजनः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• श्वान-भोजनः: Śvānabhojana (dog-food/dogs as food hell)
• श्वान-भोजनः: कर्ता/सूची (listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वान् (प्रातिपदिक) + भोजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नरकनाम

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical frame; not explicit in the provided excerpt)

Key Themes

• Naraka taxonomy
• Moral pedagogy
• Karma and retribution

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By cataloging specific narakas, the Purāṇa makes ethical causality concrete: harmful choices are not ‘abstract sins’ but lead to defined states of suffering, encouraging restraint, truthfulness, and compassion.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

It is ancillary didactic material supporting dharma and varṇāśrama conduct; it is not genealogical (vaṃśa) or cosmic creation (sarga), but part of purāṇic moral instruction embedded within narrative teaching.

What is the symbolic significance?

Names like Taptakumbha (boiling vessel) and Śvānabhojana (becoming ‘dog-food’) symbolize the ‘cooking’ of consequences and the loss of human dignity when one lives below dharma—imagery designed to provoke moral reflection.