Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 30

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

Devanagari script

पर्वमैथुनिनः पापाः परदाररताश्च ये ते वह्नितप्तां कूटाग्रामालिङ्गन्ते च शाल्मलीम्

Transliteration

parvamaithuninaḥ pāpāḥ paradāraratāśca ye te vahnitaptāṃ kūṭāgrāmāliṅgante ca śālmalīm

Translation

Sinful people who engage in intercourse on prohibited festival/sacred days (parva), and those who delight in another’s wife, embrace the Śālmalī tree whose thorns/spikes are heated by fire.

Word by Word

• पर्व-मैथुनिनः: those who have intercourse on festival/holy days
• पर्व-मैथुनिनः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + मैथुनिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पर्वणि/पर्वसु मैथुनं येषां ते)

• पापाः: sinners
• पापाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• पर-दार-रताः: those devoted to others’ wives
• पर-दार-रताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + दार (प्रातिपदिक) + रत (कृदन्त; √रम् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (परस्य दारेषु रताः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; निर्देशक-सर्वनाम (correlative)

• वह्नि-तप्ताम्: fire-heated
• वह्नि-तप्ताम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + तप्त (कृदन्त; √तप् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वह्निना तप्ता)

• कूट-अग्राम्: having a sharp/false point (spiked)
• कूट-अग्राम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कूट (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (कूटं च तत् अग्रं च—‘false/spiked tip’)

• आलिङ्गन्ते: they embrace
• आलिङ्गन्ते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √लिङ्ग्/√लिङ्ग् (आ-उपसर्ग; धातु: आलिङ्ग् ‘to embrace’)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• शाल्मलीम्: the śālmalī tree (silk-cotton tree)
• शाल्मलीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाल्मली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speakers

• Not specified in input (often Pulastya ↔ Nārada
• but not asserted here).

Key Themes

• Sexual ethics in dharma
• Adultery (paradāra)
• Observance of sacred days (parva)
• Naraka descriptions

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Dharma regulates desire through boundaries—fidelity and restraint on sacred observance days. Violations are portrayed as self-destructive, producing suffering proportional to the harm and disorder caused.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

A karmaphala/dharma teaching unit embedded in the Purāṇa’s narrative flow, rather than sarga/pratisarga/vamśa-centered content.

What is the symbolic significance?

Embracing a fire-heated thorny tree externalizes the inner logic of illicit desire: what is grasped for pleasure becomes a source of burning pain; ‘śālmalī’ functions as a classic Naraka emblem of passion turned punitive.