Shloka 18
Adhyāya 174: Karma as an inescapable companion (कर्मानुगमन-उपदेश)
निरयं प्राप्स्यति महत् कृतघ्नोडयमिति प्रभो । तब देवताओंने गौतमको महान् शाप देते हुए कहा--“यह पापी कृतघ्न है और दूसरा पति स्वीकार करनेवाली शूद्रजातीय स्त्रीके पेटसे बहुत दिनोंसे संतान पैदा करता आ रहा है। इस पापके कारण यह घोर नरकमें पड़ेगा” ।।
nirayaṁ prāpsyati mahat kṛtaghno ’yam iti prabho | tataḥ devatābhir gautamako mahān śāpaṁ dadbhiḥ proktaḥ— “eṣa pāpī kṛtaghnaḥ, dvitīya-pati-pratigrahāyāḥ śūdra-jātīyāḥ striyāḥ kukṣau bahu-dinaiḥ santānaṁ janayann āste | asya pāpasya kāraṇād eṣa ghora-narake patiṣyati” || etat prāha purā sarvaṁ nārado mama bhārata ||
毗湿摩说道：“主上啊，‘这忘恩负义之人将堕入大地狱。’于是诸天对乔多摩迦降下强大的诅咒，宣告：‘此罪人忘恩负义，且久已在一位首陀罗女子——那接受了第二任丈夫的女人——的胎中使其孕育子嗣。因这罪业，他将被投进可怖的地狱。’这一切，婆罗多啊，往昔那罗陀曾向我详尽叙述。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores that kṛtaghnatā (ingratitude) is a grave ethical fault with severe karmic consequences. It frames moral accountability as extending beyond social standing, emphasizing that betrayal of received good and persistent wrongdoing lead to painful retribution.
Bhishma recounts to Yudhishthira an earlier story he heard from Narada: the gods pronounce a powerful curse on Gautamaka, condemning him as sinful and ungrateful and declaring that, due to his misconduct, he will fall into a dreadful hell.