Shloka 4
Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas
रौरवं नाम नरकं मुख्यं तद्वैनिबोध मे / रौरवे कूटसाक्षी तु याति यश्चानृती नरः
rauravaṃ nāma narakaṃ mukhyaṃ tadvainibodha me / raurave kūṭasākṣī tu yāti yaścānṛtī naraḥ
مجھ سے جان لو کہ ‘رَورَو’ نام کا دوزخ سب سے بڑا ہے۔ رَورَو میں جھوٹی گواہی دینے والا اور جو شخص جھوٹ بولتا ہے وہ جاتا ہے۔
Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda, Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: False witness (kūṭasākṣya) and untruth (anṛta) lead to specific karmic retribution in Raurava.
Vedantic Theme: Satya as dharmic foundation; adharma obscures buddhi and binds the jīva to painful karma-phala.
Application: Avoid lying and especially perjury; practice truthful speech, accurate testimony, and integrity in legal/communal settings.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: naraka (hell)
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: Raurava described as a chief naraka with punishments for false witness and untruth; Nearby naraka descriptions that map specific sins to specific hells
FAQs
This verse identifies Raurava as a प्रमुख (foremost) hell and links it directly to specific adharma—lying and giving false testimony—making it a key moral warning within the naraka descriptions.
It states a cause-and-result karmic path: those who commit the sins of untruth and false witnessing are led after death toward the realm of punishment called Raurava, under the broader system of narakas described in the Preta Kanda.
Practice सत्य (truthfulness) in speech and especially in legal/social testimony; avoid exaggeration, deception, and fabricated evidence, since the text treats these as grave violations of dharma with severe afterlife consequences.