Adhyaya 15 — Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell
इन्द्र उवाच कर्मणा नरकप्राप्तिरेतेषां पापकर्मिणाम् ।
स्वर्गस्त्वयापि गन्तव्यो नृप पुण्येन कर्मणा ॥
indra uvāca karmaṇā narakaprāptir eteṣāṃ pāpakarmiṇām |
svargas tvayāpi gantavyo nṛpa puṇyena karmaṇā ||
اِندر نے کہا—اپنے ہی اعمال کے سبب یہ بدکار دوزخ کو پہنچے ہیں۔ اور اے راجا، تم بھی اپنے نیک اعمال کے باعث سُوَرگ کو جاؤ۔
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The verse states karmic accountability: naraka is not arbitrary punishment but consequence of pāpa. Simultaneously it affirms that puṇya naturally bears svarga as fruit—yet the surrounding narrative challenges mere enjoyment of that fruit when compassion calls.
Dharma-phala instruction within narrative; adjacent to pancalakṣaṇa concerns insofar as purāṇas teach ethical order supporting cosmic order.
Indra (sovereignty/egoic rulership) represents the principle of deserved reward. The king’s counterpoint (compassion) implies a higher sovereignty: mastery over reward-impulse itself.