Shloka 59
Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments
गावोऽग्निर्जननी विप्रोज्येष्ठभ्राता पिता स्वसा ।
जामयो गुरवो वृद्धा यैः स्पृष्टास्तु पदा नृभिः ॥
gāvo 'gnir jananī vipro jyeṣṭha-bhrātā pitā svasā /
jāmayo guravo vṛddhā yaiḥ spṛṣṭās tu padā nṛbhiḥ
ये नराः गाः वह्निं मातरं ब्राह्मणं ज्येष्ठभ्रातरं पितरं भगिनीं श्यालक्यादि-स्त्रीसम्बन्धिनीः गुरून् वृद्धांश्च पादेन स्पृष्ट्वा ताडयन्ति, तेषां घोराः परिणामाः अनुवर्तन्ते।
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FAQs
Reverence (satkāra) toward sanctified beings and dharma-pillars—parents, teachers, elders, brāhmaṇas, cows, and fire—is non-negotiable in the Purāṇic ethic. Physical contempt (kicking) is treated as a direct violation of ṛta/dharma, producing severe karmic retribution.
Primarily ‘Vamśānucarita/Dharma’ material (ethical conduct and its fruits), not sarga/pratisarga. It functions as didactic naraka-varṇana (hell-description) used to reinforce varṇāśrama-dharma.
The ‘foot’ symbolizes egoic dominance and disrespect. To place it upon the sacred (agni, go, guru, mātṛ) is to invert the proper hierarchy of consciousness; the ensuing bondage imagery in later verses mirrors self-forged inner bondage.