Shloka 3
Description of Yama’s Torments and the Discernment of Sin and Merit
क्वचिन्महाजलौकोभिः क्वचिदाजगरैः पुनः । मक्षिकाभिश्च रौद्राभिः क्वचित्सर्पैर्विषोल्बणैः
kvacinmahājalaukobhiḥ kvacidājagaraiḥ punaḥ | makṣikābhiśca raudrābhiḥ kvacitsarpairviṣolbaṇaiḥ
บางแห่งมีปลิงยักษ์; บางแห่งอีกมีงูเหลือมใหญ่; ที่อื่นมีแมลงวันดุร้าย และบางแห่งมีงูพิษที่พองด้วยพิษมรณะ
Unspecified (narrative description within the chapter context)
Concept: Karmic consequence is experienced as an environment of fear and affliction; the world becomes hostile to the unrighteous.
Application: Treat harmful impulses (cruelty, deceit, intoxication) as ‘inner serpents’; cultivate daily japa/namasmaraṇa and non-violence to reduce fear-driven living.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: forest
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A narrow, muddy jungle path choked with reeds and stagnant pools; enormous leeches cling to ankles while a massive python coils across the trail. Swarms of harsh, biting flies cloud the air, and hooded serpents with glistening venom rise from the undergrowth, turning the journey into a living nightmare.","primary_figures":["terrified travelers (preta-like souls)","giant leeches","python (ājagara)","venomous serpents","swarms of flies"],"setting":"fetid forest-marsh corridor with broken stones, thorny shrubs, and dark pools; a distant, barely visible path marker suggests forced travel","lighting_mood":"storm-dark gloom with sickly green highlights","color_palette":["swamp green","inky black","rust brown","ashen gray","venom yellow"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a cautionary puranic tableau of a perilous marsh-forest path where preta-like travelers recoil from giant leeches and hooded serpents; stylized foliage and ornate borders; use gold leaf sparingly as ominous glints on serpent hoods and wet scales; rich maroons and deep greens; traditional South Indian iconographic framing with a narrative panel layout.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: delicate brushwork showing a narrow jungle track with a coiled python and small but vivid serpents; travelers in pale garments surrounded by buzzing flies; cool, misty atmosphere; refined faces showing fear; layered hills faintly behind, with lyrical yet unsettling naturalism.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines and flat natural pigments; exaggerated serpent hoods and leech forms; travelers with wide expressive eyes; dense stylized vegetation; dominant greens and reds with yellow accents; temple-wall narrative composition with rhythmic repetition of creatures.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: transform the scene into a moral allegory border—intricate floral and thorn motifs, dark lotus ponds, serpents entwined in arabesques; central negative space suggests the ‘path’; deep indigo ground with gold detailing; Nathdwara-like ornamental framing while keeping the mood foreboding."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple drum","insect drone","distant thunder","rustling reeds","occasional conch shell (as warning)"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: क्वचिन्महाजलौकोभिः = क्वचित् + महाजलौकोभिः (त् + म् → न्म्). क्वचित्सर्पैः = क्वचित् + सर्पैः (त् + स्).
FAQs
The verse gives a vivid, place-by-place depiction of a dangerous environment filled with threatening creatures—leeches, pythons, fierce flies, and highly venomous serpents.
It indicates that the serpents are intensely venomous—either ‘swollen with poison’ or ‘abounding in poison,’ emphasizing lethality rather than mere presence.
Purāṇas often use concrete, sensory descriptions both to narrate literal landscapes and to heighten moral or spiritual tension; this verse functions primarily as a narrative intensifier, and can also be read ass as imagery for peril and suffering encountered in certain realms or journeys.