Shloka 69

Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments

Sanskrit

स्वपोषणपरो यस्तु परित्यजति मानवः ।

पुत्रभृत्यकलत्रादिबन्धुवर्गमकिञ्चनम् ॥

Transliteration

svapoṣaṇaparo yastu parityajati mānavaḥ / putra-bhṛtya-kalatrādi-bandhuvargam akiñcanam

Translation

ผู้ใดหมกมุ่นเพียงการเลี้ยงชีพของตน แล้วทอดทิ้งวงศ์ญาติผู้ไร้ที่พึ่ง—บุตร คนรับใช้ ภรรยา และอื่น ๆ—ผู้นั้นย่อมได้รับผลกรรมอันร้ายแรงยิ่ง।

Word by Word

• sva-poṣaṇa-paraḥ: devoted to his own maintenance
• sva-poṣaṇa-paraḥ: Karta (कर्ता) — विशेषणम्
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + poṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष-समासः—‘स्वस्य पोषणम्’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः + ‘परः’ (पर-शब्दः)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun (यद्-प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) — contrast/emphasis

• parityajati: abandons
• parityajati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-tyaj (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• mānavaḥ: a man
• mānavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• putra-bhṛtya-kalatra-ādi-bandhu-vargam: the group of relatives—sons, servants, wife, etc.
• putra-bhṛtya-kalatra-ādi-bandhu-vargam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛtya (प्रातिपदिक) + kalatra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + bandhu (प्रातिपदिक) + varga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); समासः—(putra-bhṛtya-kalatra-ādi) इति समाहार/सूची-समास-प्रायः (द्वन्द्व-प्रायः) + bandhu-varga (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘बन्धूनां वर्गः’) ; समस्तपदम् कर्मपदम्

• akiñcanam: destitute/without possessions
• akiñcanam: Karma (कर्म) — विशेषणम्
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akiñcana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); नञ्-समास-निष्पन्न विशेषणम् (a- + kiñcana)

Speakers

• Not specified in the provided excerpt (context suggests an instructive narration describing hellish retribution).

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "dharma", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Gṛhastha responsibilities
• Karmaphala
• Naraka (hell) imagery
• Compassion toward dependents

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Householder-dharma is not merely personal survival; it includes protection and maintenance of those who rely on one’s support. Self-centered renunciation of one’s vulnerable dependents is treated as adharma with severe karmic results.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

This passage aligns most closely with Dharma/ācāra and karmaphala instruction (not one of the five core cosmological lakṣaṇas per se, but commonly embedded in Purāṇic teaching alongside vaṃśa/manvantara narratives).

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘family circle’ symbolizes entrusted obligations (ṛṇa). Abandoning them for ‘self-feeding’ represents contraction of consciousness into selfishness; the later hell-torments externalize that inner cruelty as experienced suffering.