Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 34
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
वेदवह्निगुरुत्यागी भार्यापित्रोस्तथैव च/ गिरिशृड्गादधःपातं पात्यन्ते यमकिङ्करैः
vedavahnigurutyāgī bhāryāpitrostathaiva ca/ giriśṛḍgādadhaḥpātaṃ pātyante yamakiṅkaraiḥ
வேதம், யாகஅக்னி, குரு ஆகியவற்றைத் துறந்தவனும், மனைவி மற்றும் பெற்றோர்களையும் கைவிட்டவனும்—யமனின் தூதர்களால் மலைச்சிகரத்திலிருந்து கீழே தள்ளப்படுகிறான்।
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FAQs
The verse treats fidelity to foundational duties—reverence for Veda, maintenance of sacred fire/ritual responsibility, loyalty to the guru, and care for spouse and parents—as pillars of dharma. Abandoning them is framed as a severe moral rupture with correspondingly severe consequences.
This is best classified under Dharma/ācāra instruction within a Purāṇic teaching segment (often grouped with normative material rather than sarga/pratisarga). It aligns most closely with didactic portions that accompany or supplement vaṃśānucarita narratives, but is not itself a cosmogonic or genealogical unit.
Being hurled from a mountain peak symbolizes loss of spiritual ‘height’ gained by discipline and right conduct. The agents of Yama represent the inescapability of karmic consequence when one violates core social and sacred bonds.