Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 14

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

Devanagari script

एकपङ्क्त्युपविष्टानां विषमं भोजयन्ति ये विड्भोजनं राक्षसेन्द्र नरकं ते व्रजन्ति च

Transliteration

ekapaṅktyupaviṣṭānāṃ viṣamaṃ bhojayanti ye viḍbhojanaṃ rākṣasendra narakaṃ te vrajanti ca

Translation

एकपङ्क्त्युपविष्टानां विषमं भोजयन्ति ये; हे राक्षसेन्द्र, ते ‘विड्भोजन’ नाम नरकं व्रजन्ति च।

Word by Word

• eka-paṅkty-upaviṣṭānām: of those seated in one row
• eka-paṅkty-upaviṣṭānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + paṅkti (प्रातिपदिक) + upaviṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—'एकपङ्क्त्याम् उपविष्ट' (in one row seated)

• viṣamam: unequal (food/serving)
• viṣamam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṣama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (भोजनम् implied)

• bhojayanti: feed/serve
• bhojayanti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (धातु; णिच् causative)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative: make eat/feed)

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• viṭ-bhojanam: feces as food
• viṭ-bhojanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṭ (प्रातिपदिक) + bhojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (विटः भोजनम्)

• rākṣasa-indra: O lord of the Rakṣasas
• rākṣasa-indra: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (राक्षसानाम् इन्द्रः)

• narakam: hell
• narakam: Gati/Karma (गति/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• vrajanti: go
• vrajanti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vraj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

Speakers

• Not specified in input; vocative ‘rākṣasendra’ indicates the addressee is a Rākṣasa ruler (likely in a dialogue setting)

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Karma-phala
• Naraka (hells)
• Social ethics
• Anna-dharma

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Fairness in giving is part of dharma: when a community meal is undertaken, discrimination and partiality in serving are treated as a serious moral fault, because it humiliates and harms others at the most basic level of sustenance.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

As with many Purāṇas, the text includes dharma-śikṣā (ethical instruction) alongside the pancalakṣaṇa topics. This passage is best categorized as karmic/dharmic instruction rather than cosmology or genealogy.

What is the symbolic significance?

The hell-name ‘Viḍbhojana’ (excrement-eating) is a reversal-symbol: one who degrades others at a sacred meal is themselves assigned the most degrading ‘meal,’ dramatizing the inversion of dignity.