Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 23

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

Devanagari script

प्रपादेवकुलालामान् विप्रवेश्मसभामठान् कूपवापीतडागांश्च भङ्क्त्वा विध्वंसयन्ति ये

Transliteration

prapādevakulālāmān vipraveśmasabhāmaṭhān kūpavāpītaḍāgāṃśca bhaṅktvā vidhvaṃsayanti ye

Translation

प्रपादेवकुलालामान् विप्रवेश्मसभामठान् कूपवापीतडागांश्च भङ्क्त्वा विध्वंसयन्ति ये

Word by Word

• प्रपादेवकुलालामान्: rest-houses, temples, and shelters
• प्रपादेवकुलालामान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रपा (प्रातिपदिक) + देवकुल (प्रातिपदिक) + आलाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (प्रपाः च देवकुलानि च आलामाः च), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• विप्रवेश्मसभामठान्: brahmins’ houses, assembly-halls, and monasteries
• विप्रवेश्मसभामठान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक) + वेश्म (प्रातिपदिक) + सभा (प्रातिपदिक) + मठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (विप्रवेश्मानि च सभाः च मठाः च), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कूपवापीतडागान्: wells, step-wells, and ponds
• कूपवापीतडागान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूप (प्रातिपदिक) + वापी (प्रातिपदिक) + तडाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (कूपाः च वाप्यः च तडागाः च), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• भङ्क्त्वा: having broken
• भङ्क्त्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भञ्ज् (धातु) + क्त्वा (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having broken)

• विध्वंसयन्ति: they destroy
• विध्वंसयन्ति: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-ध्वंसय् (धातु; causative of ध्वंस्)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; relative pronoun

Speakers

• Primary dialogue frame not stated in input (commonly Pulastya ↔ Nārada); narrative lists adharma leading to naraka

Key Themes

• Protection of public goods
• Temple and monastic sanctity
• Water ethics
• Karmaphala
• Naraka

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Dharma includes stewardship of shared resources and institutions—especially water infrastructure and places sustaining learning, worship, and refuge. Harming such supports is treated as a grave offense because it multiplies suffering across the community.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily dharma-upadeśa/karmaphala instruction (ancillary to the five marks). It functions as normative guidance within Purāṇic teaching rather than cosmogenesis or dynastic history.

What is the symbolic significance?

Water structures (kūpa/vāpī/taḍāga) symbolize life-support and yajña-like public merit; destroying them is an anti-yajña act. Temples/maṭhas/sabhās represent the social body’s ‘organs’ of meaning and order; their ruin signifies a turn toward chaos (adharma).