Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 3
Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata
वर्ज्यादानं तथा दुष्टमवध्यवधबन्धनम् विवादमर्थहेतूत्थं तृतीयं नरकं स्मृतम्
varjyādānaṃ tathā duṣṭamavadhyavadhabandhanam vivādamarthahetūtthaṃ tṛtīyaṃ narakaṃ smṛtam
ఇవ్వకూడని దానాన్ని ఇవ్వడం, దుష్టాచారం, వధించరానివానిని వధించడం లేదా బంధించడం, మరియు ధనహేతువుగా పుట్టిన వివాదం—ఇవి మూడవ నరకమని స్మృతము.
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FAQs
Avadhya denotes persons protected by dharma and social order—commonly including dependents, innocents, certain protected classes, and those under refuge. The verse treats violence against the protected (and unjust detention) as a distinct, aggravated adharma leading to severe karmic retribution.
The phrasing targets disputes deliberately generated or inflamed for material gain—fraudulent litigation, coercive quarrels, and conflicts driven by greed rather than justice. It is not a blanket condemnation of adjudication, but of artha-motivated contention that harms social harmony.
Some Purāṇic passages classify hells by moral categories rather than fixed proper names. Here the emphasis is pedagogical: grouping related transgressions (forbidden appropriation/giving, cruelty to the protected, greed-born conflict) under one infernal consequence.