Shloka 1
सामान्यतो नरकगतिवर्णनम्
General Description of the Course of Hell / Naraka-gati
सनत्कुमार उवाच । एषु पापाः प्रपच्यंते शोष्यंते नरकाग्निषु । यातनाभिर्विचित्राभिरास्वकर्म्मक्षयाद्भृशम्
sanatkumāra uvāca | eṣu pāpāḥ prapacyaṃte śoṣyaṃte narakāgniṣu | yātanābhirvicitrābhirāsvakarmmakṣayādbhṛśam
萨那特库玛罗（Sanatkumāra）说道：“在这些地狱境中，诸罪于那落迦（Naraka）之火里被彻底煎煮、焚尽。以种种严酷的刑罚，使之大为枯竭，直至各自之业（karma）耗尽。”
Sanatkumara
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
It teaches that suffering in Naraka is not random punishment but the ripening and depletion of pāpa-karma; when karma is exhausted, the soul (paśu) moves onward in its journey, highlighting the law of karma under the Lord’s cosmic order.
By showing that karmic bondage (pāśa) produces painful results, the verse indirectly urges refuge in Saguna Shiva—worship of the Liṅga, devotion, and Śiva-anugraha (grace)—as the purifying path that reduces pāpa and turns the mind toward liberation.
A practical takeaway is karmic purification through daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), along with Śiva-pūjā/abhisheka and living by dharma to prevent further pāpa and orient the mind toward Śiva’s grace.