Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 1
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
इति श्रीवामनपुराणे एकादशो ऽध्यायः सुकेशिरुवाच कर्मणा नरकानेतान् केन गच्छन्ति वै कथम् एतद् वदन्तु विप्रेन्द्राः परं कौतूहलं मम
iti śrīvāmanapurāṇe ekādaśo 'dhyāyaḥ sukeśiruvāca karmaṇā narakānetān kena gacchanti vai katham etad vadantu viprendrāḥ paraṃ kautūhalaṃ mama
“Assim (termina) o décimo primeiro capítulo do Śrī Vāmana Purāṇa. Disse Sukeśī: ‘Por qual ação as pessoas vão a esses infernos, e de que modo? Dizei-me isto, ó melhores entre os brâmanes; grande é, de fato, a minha curiosidade.’”
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FAQs
The verse models the Purāṇic pedagogy: inquiry (jijñāsā) into ethical causality. Curiosity is directed toward dharma—seeking precise links between conduct and consequence, which supports moral responsibility rather than fatalism.
As a chapter transition and question, it is part of the narrative-dialogue scaffolding that carries dharma teachings. It is not itself sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita, but a didactic hinge introducing karma-specific exposition.
Sukeśī’s ‘kautūhala’ signifies the turn from mere hearing of frightening descriptions to discriminative understanding (viveka): not just that suffering exists, but why it arises—placing ethics, intention, and action at the center.