Shloka 22
Viṣṇu-sahasranāma—Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Recitation (विष्णोर्नामसहस्रम्)
इसके सिवा यह एक दूसरा धर्म भी चित्रगुप्तने बताया है। उसके पृथक्ू-पृथक् फलका वर्णन सभी साधु पुरुष सुनें। समस्त प्राणी कालक्रमसे प्रलयको प्राप्त होते हैं ।।
tatra durgamanūprāptāḥ kṣut-tṛṣṇāri-pīḍitāḥ | dahyamānā vipacyante na tatrāsti palāyanam ||
Ở đó, khi đã đến một miền khó băng qua, chúng sinh bị kẻ thù là đói và khát giày vò. Bị thiêu đốt, họ như bị “nấu chín” bởi khổ đau; từ nơi ấy không có đường trốn thoát.
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yama emphasizes that beings inevitably face the results of their deeds: when one reaches the harsh post-mortem condition described here, suffering (symbolized by hunger and thirst as ‘enemies’) becomes inescapable. The ethical thrust is to practice dharma now, before consequences become unavoidable.
Yama, citing what Chitragupta has explained about another form of dharma and its distinct fruits, describes a dreadful, difficult realm where beings are afflicted by hunger and thirst and cannot flee—illustrating the ordered, time-bound unfolding of karmic outcomes.