Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 18
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
मित्रजायाथ जननी ज्येष्ठो भ्राता पिता स्वसा जामयो गुरवो वृद्धा यैः संस्पृष्टाः पदा नृभिः
mitrajāyātha jananī jyeṣṭho bhrātā pitā svasā jāmayo guravo vṛddhā yaiḥ saṃspṛṣṭāḥ padā nṛbhiḥ
मित्रजाया तथा जननी ज्येष्ठो भ्राता पिता स्वसा जामयः गुरवो वृद्धाश्च—एते यैर्नृभिः पदा संस्पृष्टाः।
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FAQs
Dharma is enacted through embodied respect: using the foot—symbol of lowliness and domination—as a point of contact with revered persons or protected relations is treated as a serious breach of maryādā (social-ethical boundary).
This is conduct-regulation (ācāra/dharma) inserted within Purāṇic teaching; it is ancillary to the five-lakṣaṇa framework but serves the Purāṇa’s pedagogical function.
The foot signifies pride and transgression of hierarchy; the list (mother, father, guru, elders) encodes the dharmic axis of reverence, while ‘friend’s wife’ and ‘sisters-in-law’ highlight boundaries protecting social trust and sexual ethics.