Shloka 70
Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments
दुर्भिक्षे सम्भ्रमे वापि सोऽप्येवं यमकिङ्करैः ।
उत्कृत्य दत्तानि मुखे स्वमांसान्यश्नुते क्षुधा ॥
durbhikṣe sambhrame vāpi so 'pyevaṃ yamakiṅkaraiḥ / utkṛtya dattāni mukhe svamāṃsāny aśnute kṣudhā
பஞ்சம் அல்லது அச்சக் காலத்தில் யமதூதர்கள் அவனையும் இவ்வாறே நடத்துவர்—அவனுடைய சொந்த மாம்சத்தை வெட்டி அவன் வாயில் இடுவர்; பசியால் துடித்து அவன் அதையே உண்ணுவான்।
{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Adharma committed under ‘emergency’ is still adharma. The verse warns that panic or scarcity does not justify cruelty; karmic order mirrors the harm done, turning the agent into the victim.
Primarily didactic dharma/karmaphala material, not sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita directly—yet typical of Purāṇas’ ethical instruction.
Eating one’s own flesh symbolizes self-devouring desire: when one makes survival an absolute, the self consumes itself. The ‘Yama-servants’ figure the inevitability of consequence.