Shloka 31

प्रह्लादचरितम् (हिरण्यकशिपोः स्वर्गापहरणं, प्रह्लादस्य विष्णुभक्तिः, उपदेशः)

Devanagari script

दुरात्मा वध्यताम् एष नानेनार्थो ऽस्ति जीवता स्वपक्षहानिकर्तृत्वाद् यः कुलाङ्गारतां गतः

Transliteration

durātmā vadhyatām eṣa nānenārtho 'sti jīvatā svapakṣahānikartṛtvād yaḥ kulāṅgāratāṃ gataḥ

Translation

இந்தத் துராத்மா கொல்லப்படட்டும்; இவன் உயிருடன் இருப்பதில் எந்தப் பயனும் இல்லை. தன் சொந்தத் தரப்பையே அழிப்பவன் என்பதால், இவன் குலத்தையே அழிக்கும் நெருப்புத் தணலாகிவிட்டான்.

Word by Word

• दुरात्मा: the wicked-souled one
• दुरात्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (दुष्ट आत्मा) = masculine nominative singular

• वध्यताम्: let (him) be killed
• वध्यताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वध् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), तृतीयपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद, कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive) = “let him be slain”

• एषः: this (man)
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम = masculine nominative singular

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (particle of negation)

• अनेन: by/with this one
• अनेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम = instrumental singular “by/with this (one)”

• अर्थः: purpose; use
• अर्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन = masculine nominative singular

• अस्ति: is
• अस्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद = “is/exists”

• जीवता: while alive; living
• जीवता: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जीवत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √जीव्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ) = instrumental singular “while alive / with (him) living”

• स्वपक्षहानिकर्तृत्वात्: because of (his) causing harm to his own side
• स्वपक्षहानिकर्तृत्वात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + हानि (प्रातिपदिक) + कर्तृत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/समाहारः = “because of the agency of harming one’s own side”; ablative singular

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम = “who”

• कुलाङ्गारताम्: the state of being a destroyer of the family
• कुलाङ्गारताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गार (प्रातिपदिक) + ता (प्रत्यय; भाव)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (कुलस्य अङ्गारः इव) + ता = accusative singular “state of being a family-burner”

• गतः: has gone to; has become
• गतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √गम्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन = past participle “gone/attained”

Speaker

A royal/ministerial voice within the dynastic narrative (reported by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya)

FAQs

What is the significance of the term kulāṅgāra in the Vishnu Purana?

It marks a person as an internal destroyer of the lineage—someone whose actions burn the family’s honor and stability from within, justifying severe royal punishment.

How does Sage Parāśara frame royal justice in dynastic episodes?

Through narrated courtly decisions where adharma—especially betrayal that harms one’s own people—is treated as a threat to social order, warranting daṇḍa to restore stability.

What theological takeaway about order and sovereignty fits this context in the Vishnu Purana?

Kingship functions as an instrument of dharma; maintaining order against destructive adharma aligns with the Purāṇic vision of a cosmos ultimately upheld by Vishnu’s sovereign law.