Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 29

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

Devanagari script

न्यासापहारिणः पापा बध्यन्ते निगडैरपि श्रुत्क्षामाः शुष्कताल्वोष्ठाः पात्यन्ते वृश्चिकाशने

Transliteration

nyāsāpahāriṇaḥ pāpā badhyante nigaḍairapi śrutkṣāmāḥ śuṣkatālvoṣṭhāḥ pātyante vṛścikāśane

Translation

Грешники, похищающие или присваивающие вверенные вклады, заковываются в кандалы; истощённые голодом, с пересохшим нёбом и губами, они низвергаются в мучение/ад, называемый «поедание скорпионов».

Word by Word

• न्यासापहारिणः: those who steal entrusted deposits
• न्यासापहारिणः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: न्यास+अपहारिन् (प्रातिपदिक); अपहारिन् = √हृ (धातु) + णिनि (agent)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः: न्यासस्य अपहारिणः (stealers of deposits/trusts)

• पापाः: sinners
• पापाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• बध्यन्ते: are bound
• बध्यन्ते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √बन्ध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

• निगडैः: with fetters
• निगडैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निगड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: even/also)

• श्रुत्क्षामाः: emaciated by hunger
• श्रुत्क्षामाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रुत्+क्षाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः: श्रुत्-क्षाम (hunger-thinned)

• शुष्कताल्वोष्ठाः: with dry palate and lips
• शुष्कताल्वोष्ठाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुष्क+तालु+ओष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: शुष्के ताले च ओष्ठे च यस्य (dry palate and lips)

• पात्यन्ते: are made to fall / are cast
• पात्यन्ते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

• वृश्चिकाशने: in the scorpion-eating (hell)
• वृश्चिकाशने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृश्चिक+आशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: वृश्चिकानाम् आशनम् (scorpion-eating/place of scorpions as food)

Speakers

• Not specified in input (often Pulastya ↔ Nārada
• but not asserted here).

Key Themes

• Trust and social ethics
• Theft and betrayal of deposit (nyāsa)
• Naraka descriptions

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Misappropriating what is entrusted (nyāsa) is treated as a grave breach of trust; the Purāṇa frames social reliability as a pillar of dharma, with severe karmic consequences for betrayal.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily dharma/ācāra and karmavipāka instruction within Purāṇic discourse, not a genealogical or cosmogenic section.

What is the symbolic significance?

Hunger and dryness mirror the inner ‘emptiness’ produced by greed and breach of trust; ‘scorpion’ imagery conveys the sharp, stinging return of harmful actions.