Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments
अयश्चञ्चुनिपातेन सर्वाङ्गक्षतदुःखिताः ।
किमेतेऽनिष्टकर्तारस्तुद्यन्तेऽहर्निशं नराः ॥
ayaś cañcu-nipātena sarvāṅga-kṣata-duḥkhitāḥ / kim ete ’niṣṭa-kartāras tudyante ’har-niśaṃ narāḥ //
لوہے کی چونچوں کے گرنے والے وار سے زخمی، اور سارے بدن پر گھاؤ سے ستائے ہوئے—یہ بدکار کون ہیں، اور ایسے آدمیوں کی دن رات تعریف کیوں کی جاتی ہے؟
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The verse critiques social inversion: the wicked may receive public acclaim, yet karmic law remains impartial. Ethical discernment should not be outsourced to popular praise.
Didactic dharma material; it supports Purāṇic moral instruction rather than genealogical/cosmic enumeration.
‘Praise day and night’ suggests the hypnotic power of fame (yaśas) that can mask adharma; the iron-beak wounds indicate the inevitable piercing of illusion by consequence.