Shloka 88

Adhyaya 14 — The Messenger of Yama Explains Karmic Retribution and the Causes of Naraka Torments

Sanskrit

करम्भवालुकां तस्मात् ततो यन्त्रानपीडनम् ।

असिपत्रवनं तस्मात् करपत्रेण पाटनम् ॥

Transliteration

karambha-vālukāṃ tasmāt tato yantrān apīḍanam | asipatra-vanaṃ tasmāt karapatreṇa pāṭanam ||

Translation

وہاں سے وہ ‘ریت کی کھچڑی’ (کنکریلی کھولتی لئی) کی عذاب میں جاتا ہے؛ پھر مشینوں سے کچلا جاتا ہے۔ وہاں سے تلوار جیسے پتّوں کے جنگل میں؛ پھر آری جیسے پتّوں سے کاٹا اور پھاڑا جاتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• karambha-vālukām: (a mixture of) gruel and sand
• karambha-vālukām: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karambha (प्रातिपदिक) + vālukā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (समाहार-द्वन्द्व): ‘करम्भश्च वालुका च’ (gruel and sand mixture); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tasmāt: thereafter/from that
• tasmāt: Avyaya (अव्यय/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tasmāt (सर्वनाम-अव्यय/तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादानार्थ (ablatival adverb) ‘from that/thereafter’

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Avyaya (अव्यय/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थ (then/thereupon)

• yantrān: machines/contrivances
• yantrān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Plural)

• apīḍanam: pressing/crushing
• apīḍanam: Karma (कर्म/Object/Result)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ā + pīḍ (धातु) → apīḍana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक (action noun) ‘pressing/torture’

• asi-patra-vanam: the forest of sword-leaves
• asi-patra-vanam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asi (प्रातिपदिक) + patra (प्रातिपदिक) + vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; ‘असिपत्राणि यस्मिन् वनम्’ (forest of sword-leaves); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tasmāt: thereafter
• tasmāt: Avyaya (अव्यय/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tasmāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादानार्थ ‘thereafter/from that’

• kara-patreṇa: with the hand-blade
• kara-patreṇa: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक) + patra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; ‘करस्य पत्रम्’ / ‘करपत्र’ (hand-like blade/leaf); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• pāṭanam: cutting/cleaving
• pāṭanam: Karma (कर्म/Object/Result)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṭ (धातु) → pāṭana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक (action noun) ‘cutting/splitting’

Speakers

• Dialogue frame not explicit in the provided excerpt; continuation of the naraka-torment itinerary.

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Karma and retribution
• Graphic naraka imagery
• Consequences of betrayal/harm (contextual continuation)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Actions that ‘injure’ others are repaid through escalating ‘injury’ experiences. The catalogue functions as deterrence: vivid imagery to restrain cruelty and betrayal in ordinary life.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Didactic karmaphala material; not a pancalakṣaṇa core item, but a moral-educational appendix within Purāṇic narration.

What is the esoteric significance?

Sand-porridge suggests corrupted nourishment (what should sustain becomes abrasive); machines symbolize impersonal karmic law; sword-leaf forests symbolize the mind’s own sharp vṛttis turning into a hostile environment.