Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments
देवतातिथिभूतेषु भृत्येष्वभ्यागतेषु च ।
अभुक्तवत्सु येऽश्नन्ति तद्वत् पित्रग्निपक्षिषु ॥
devatātithibhūteṣu bhṛtyeṣvabhyāgateṣu ca / abhuktavatsu ye 'śnanti tadvat pitragnipakṣiṣu
దేవతలు, అతిథులు, ఆధారపడిన జీవులు, సేవకులు, వచ్చిన సందర్శకులు తినకముందే తానే తినేవారు—అలాగే పితృదేవతలు, పవిత్రాగ్ని, పక్షుల పట్ల కూడా—దోషభాగులు అవుతారు।
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "bhakti", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
Householder life is framed as service: one eats righteously only after honoring the proper recipients—deities (worship), guests (hospitality), dependents/creatures (compassion), servants (duty), ancestors and fire (ritual order).
Dharma instruction; ancillary to the Purāṇic corpus rather than a pañcalakṣaṇa narrative unit.
The ‘order of feeding’ symbolizes the ordering of consciousness: higher obligations first (sacred/relational duties), personal consumption last—training the ego to serve rather than seize.