Adhyaya 12 — The Son Describes the Narakas: Mahāraurava, Tamas, Nikṛntana, Apratiṣṭha, Asipatravana, and Taptakumbha
शीतार्तास्तत्र धावन्तो नरास्तमसि दारुणे ।
परस्परं समासाद्य परिरभ्याश्रयन्ति च ॥
śītārtās tatra dhāvanto narās tamasi dāruṇe /
parasparaṃ samāsādya parirabhya āśrayanti ca
शीतपीडिताः तत्र नराः तस्मिन् घोरतमसि धावन्ति; परस्परं प्राप्य आलिङ्गन्ति, आश्रयार्थं च लम्बन्ते।
{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
When dharma is lost, even basic security vanishes; the frantic search for warmth symbolizes that selfish life ends in helpless dependence and fear.
Ethical instruction via afterlife narrative; not a core pancalakṣaṇa head, but a supporting didactic passage.
Embracing in darkness suggests the soul’s attempt to find ‘self’ through others when inner light is absent; the remedy implied is cultivating sattva (clarity) through dharma.