Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 12, Shloka 15
Adhyaya 12 — The Son Describes the Narakas: Mahāraurava, Tamas, Nikṛntana, Apratiṣṭha, Asipatravana, and Taptakumbha
प्राप्यते ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठ यावद्दुष्कृतसंक्षयः ।
निकृन्तन इति ख्यातस्ततो ’न्यो नरकोत्तमः ॥
prāpyate brāhmaṇaśreṣṭha yāvad duṣkṛta-saṃkṣayaḥ /
nikṛntana iti khyātas tato 'nyo narakottamaḥ
Hỡi bậc tối thắng trong hàng Bà-la-môn, nơi ấy phải chịu cho đến khi các nghiệp ác của mình cạn kiệt. Nơi đó được gọi là Nikṛntana; sau đó còn có một địa ngục tối thượng khác nữa.
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FAQs
Punishment is proportional and finite: it lasts ‘until demerit is exhausted.’ The verse teaches moral causality and accountability while also implying that suffering is not eternal but conditioned by karma.
Didactic dharma material and cosmography of lower realms; it supports Purāṇic instruction on conduct by describing karmaphala, often integrated into loka descriptions.
‘Nikṛntana’ (cutting) can be read as the painful severing of entrenched vāsanās (habitual tendencies). The ‘exhaustion of demerit’ suggests purification through the burning away of karmic residues.