Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 18
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
मित्रजायाथ जननी ज्येष्ठो भ्राता पिता स्वसा जामयो गुरवो वृद्धा यैः संस्पृष्टाः पदा नृभिः
mitrajāyātha jananī jyeṣṭho bhrātā pitā svasā jāmayo guravo vṛddhā yaiḥ saṃspṛṣṭāḥ padā nṛbhiḥ
凡以其足触及（如践踏、抵压）友人之妻、母亲、长兄、父亲、姊妹、诸嫂/妯娌、师长及老人者，皆犯重大失礼之罪。
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FAQs
Dharma is enacted through embodied respect: using the foot—symbol of lowliness and domination—as a point of contact with revered persons or protected relations is treated as a serious breach of maryādā (social-ethical boundary).
This is conduct-regulation (ācāra/dharma) inserted within Purāṇic teaching; it is ancillary to the five-lakṣaṇa framework but serves the Purāṇa’s pedagogical function.
The foot signifies pride and transgression of hierarchy; the list (mother, father, guru, elders) encodes the dharmic axis of reverence, while ‘friend’s wife’ and ‘sisters-in-law’ highlight boundaries protecting social trust and sexual ethics.