Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 53
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
कलासु मुख्या गणितज्ञता च विज्ञानमुख्येषु यथेन्द्रजालम् शाकेषु मुख्या त्वपि काकमाची रसेषु मुख्यं लवणं यथैव
kalāsu mukhyā gaṇitajñatā ca vijñānamukhyeṣu yathendrajālam śākeṣu mukhyā tvapi kākamācī raseṣu mukhyaṃ lavaṇaṃ yathaiva
Trong các nghệ thuật, sự tinh thông toán học là tối thượng; trong các ngành tri thức trọng yếu, indrajāla (khoa huyền thuật/kỳ ảo) là đứng đầu. Trong các loại rau, kākamācī là bậc nhất; và trong các vị, muối là bậc nhất.
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FAQs
The verse teaches discernment: within every domain (skills, knowledge-systems, foods, tastes) there are ‘principal’ elements that function as foundations—mathematics for structured arts, salt as a basic enhancer of taste, and so on. It encourages prioritizing essentials over the peripheral.
This is not sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita/manvantara narrative material; it functions as ancillary didactic content (nīti/upadeśa) embedded within the Purāṇa’s broader discourse.
‘Gaṇita’ symbolizes order and measure; ‘indrajāla’ symbolizes the power (and ambiguity) of appearances; ‘salt’ symbolizes the indispensable ‘essence’ that makes experience intelligible. Together they contrast stable foundations with dazzling but potentially deceptive display.