Karmic Causes of Narakas Shloka 55 - Vamana Purana | Thai | Vedapath

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Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 55

Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)

Devanagari script

यथा सतीनां हिमवत्सुता हि यथार्जुनीनां कपिला वरिष्ठा यथा वृषाणामपि नीलवर्णो यथैव सर्वेष्वपि दुःसहेषु दुर्गेषु रौद्रेषु निशाचरेश नृपातनं वैतरणी प्रधाना

Transliteration

yathā satīnāṃ himavatsutā hi yathārjunīnāṃ kapilā variṣṭhā yathā vṛṣāṇāmapi nīlavarṇo yathaiva sarveṣvapi duḥsaheṣu durgeṣu raudreṣu niśācareśa nṛpātanaṃ vaitaraṇī pradhānā

Translation

ดุจดังธิดาแห่งหิมวัต (ปารวตี) เป็นยอดในหมู่สตรีผู้มีศีล; ดุจกัปิลาเป็นยอดในหมู่อรชุนี; ดุจโคผู้มีสีครามเป็นยอดในหมู่โคผู้ผู้—ฉันใด โอ้เจ้าแห่งผู้ท่องราตรี ในบรรดาทางข้ามทั้งปวงที่น่ากลัว อดทนยาก ดุร้าย และอันตราย ไวตระณีซึ่งได้ชื่อว่า “นฤปาตน” (ผู้โค่นกษัตริย์) เป็นประธานฉันนั้น.

Word by Word

यथाas

सतीनाम्of virtuous women

हिमवत्सुताdaughter of Himavat (Pārvatī)

हिindeed

यथाas

अर्जुनीनाम्of the Arjunī cows (a breed)

कपिलाKapilā (the tawny cow)

वरिष्ठाthe best

यथाas

वृषाणाम्of bulls

अपिalso

नीलवर्णःthe blue-colored one

यथाas

एवindeed

सर्वेषुin all

अपिalso/even

दुःसहेषुamong unbearable (situations)

दुर्गेषुamong difficult places/forts

रौद्रेषुamong dreadful (ones)

निशाचरेशO lord of night-wanderers

नृपातनम्the downfall of kings

वैतरणीVaitaraṇī (river)

प्रधानाprincipal/supreme

Speakers

Not stated in the provided excerpt (frame often Pulastya → Nārada; additionallythe vocative ‘niśācareśa’ suggests an address within a sub-dialoguebut the addressee is not identifiable from the excerpt alone).

Primary Deities

Parvati (Himavatsutā)

Key Themes

Didactic ranking of exemplarsGoddess theology (Pārvatī as ideal satī)Eschatological motif (Vaitaraṇī as dreaded passage)Peril/durga imagery

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse uses recognized ‘ideals’ (Pārvatī among satīs; exemplary animals among their kinds) to underscore discernment about what is truly foremost—including recognition of the most formidable obstacles (Vaitaraṇī) that symbolize the gravest trials of embodied existence and moral consequence.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

It is not a direct treatment of sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita. It serves as moral-theological amplification (stuti/upadeśa) that can accompany tīrtha-māhātmya or dharma instruction depending on the surrounding chapter.

What is the symbolic significance?

Himavatsutā represents steadfast dharma and auspicious power; the exemplary animals represent strength and excellence in worldly categories; Vaitaraṇī represents the ultimate ‘crossing’—death/afterlife accountability—thereby shifting the reader from everyday superlatives to existential seriousness.