Shloka 58

Adhyaya 15 — Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell

Sanskrit

यमपुरुष उवाच एहि राजन् प्रगच्छामो निजपुण्यसमर्जितान् ।

भुङ्क्ष्व भोगानपास्येह यातनाः पापकर्मणाम् ॥

Transliteration

yamapuruṣa uvāca ehi rājan pragacchāmo nija-puṇya-samarjitān | bhuṅkṣva bhogān apāsyeha yātanāḥ pāpa-karmaṇām ||

Translation

คนของพระยมกล่าวว่า: เสด็จมาเถิด พระราชา เราจักไปสู่ความรื่นรมย์ที่พระองค์สั่งสมด้วยบุญของตนเอง ที่นี่จงทอดพระเนตรความทรมานของผู้กระทำบาป

Word by Word

• yama-puruṣaḥ: Yama’s attendant
• yama-puruṣaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama + puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘Yama’s attendant/man’

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (क्रिया/Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ehi: come
• ehi: Kriya (क्रिया/Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √i (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• pragacchāmaḥ: we go forth, let us proceed
• pragacchāmaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया/Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√gam (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• nija-puṇya-samarjitān: (enjoyments) earned by one’s own merit
• nija-puṇya-samarjitān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija + puṇya + sam-√arj (कृदन्त; समर्जित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त ‘earned/accumulated’; qualifies (implied) bhogān ‘enjoyments earned by one’s own merit’

• bhuṅkṣva: enjoy, partake
• bhuṅkṣva: Kriya (क्रिया/Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhuj (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bhogān: enjoyments
• bhogān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• apāsya: having abandoned
• apāsya: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल/Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: apa-√as (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive) ‘having cast off/abandoned’

• iha: here
• iha: Desha (देश/Location adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) स्थानवाचक ‘here’

• yātanāḥ: torments, punishments
• yātanāḥ: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• pāpa-karmaṇām: of sinful actions
• pāpa-karmaṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय ‘of sinful deeds’

Speakers

• Yamapuruṣa → King

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "bhakti", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Yama

Key Themes

• Karma
• Afterlife (Naraka)
• Merit (Puṇya)
• Moral causality

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse contrasts two fruits of action: puṇya leading to bhoga (enjoyment) and pāpa leading to yātanā (torment). It also sets up the ethical tension: whether one should depart to one’s reward while others suffer.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Dharma/karma-phala teaching within narrative (ācāra/vṛtti), not a pancalakṣaṇa core like vaṃśa or manvantara enumeration.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘invitation to bhoga’ represents the pull of personal reward; the king’s later refusal highlights transcending the merit-reward cycle through compassion.