Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 10
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
यः करोति च पैशुन्यं साधूनामन्यथामतिः वज्रतुण्डनखा जिह्वामाकर्षन्ते ऽस्य वायसाः
yaḥ karoti ca paiśunyaṃ sādhūnāmanyathāmatiḥ vajratuṇḍanakhā jihvāmākarṣante 'sya vāyasāḥ
यः साधूनां विषये पैशुन्यं करोति, तेषु चान्यथामतिं धारयति; तस्य जिह्वां वज्रतुण्डनखाः वायसाः आकृष्य विदारयन्ति।
{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Speech (vāk) is treated as a potent karmic instrument. Slandering the virtuous is framed as a direct moral inversion (anyathāmati), and the tongue—the organ of the offense—becomes the locus of retribution, reinforcing restraint, truthfulness, and reverence toward the good.
This belongs to Dharma/Adharma-kathana and karmaphala narration rather than the five primary lakṣaṇas proper; it aligns most closely with didactic material often embedded within Vamśānucarita-era instruction or ancillary moral teaching sections.
Crows (vāyasāḥ) function as agents of karmic consequence; the “vajra-like” beak/claw imagery stresses inevitability and sharpness of retribution. The tongue being seized symbolizes that harmful speech rebounds upon the speaker.