Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 35

Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)

Devanagari script

पुनर्भूपतयो ये च कन्याविध्वंसकाश्च ये तद्गर्भश्राद्धभुग् यश्च कृमीन्भक्षेत्पिपीलिकाः

Transliteration

punarbhūpatayo ye ca kanyāvidhvaṃsakāśca ye tadgarbhaśrāddhabhug yaśca kṛmīnbhakṣetpipīlikāḥ

Translation

凡再取女子为妻者（punarbhū）、毁辱处女者，以及吞食与其怀孕相关之 śrāddha（祭食/供献）者——其人将沦为啖食虫蛆与蚂蚁之者。

Word by Word

• punar: again, once more
• punar: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• bhūpatayaḥ: kings, rulers
• bhūpatayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) plural (बहुवचन)

• ye: who (those who)
• ye: Karta (कर्ता/relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Masculine, Nominative plural

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• kanyā-vidhvaṃsakāḥ: destroyers/violators of maidens
• kanyā-vidhvaṃsakāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject, appositional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyā (प्रातिपदिक) + vidhvaṃsaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘kanyāyāḥ vidhvaṃsakāḥ’), Masculine, Nominative plural

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (कर्ता/relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun, Masculine, Nominative plural

• tad-garbha-śrāddha-bhuk: one who eats the śrāddha offering for that fetus (i.e., related to that pregnancy)
• tad-garbha-śrāddha-bhuk: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + garbha (प्रातिपदिक) + śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक) + bhuj (धातु) → bhuk (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Multi-member Tatpuruṣa; final member ‘bhuk’ (भुक्) = agent noun from √bhuj (भुज्) ‘to eat’; Masculine, Nominative singular (प्रथमा एकवचन)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun, Masculine, Nominative singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• kṛmīn: worms
• kṛmīn: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (द्वितीया) plural

• bhakṣet: should eat, would eat
• bhakṣet: Kriyā (क्रिया/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhakṣ (भक्ष् धातु)
• Form: Optative/vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष) singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• pipīlikāḥ: ants
• pipīlikāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pipīlikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative plural

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical Vāmana Purāṇa frame; specific speaker not stated in input)

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Sexual ethics
• Lineage/purity concerns
• Śrāddha rules
• Karmic retribution

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "bibhatsa", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse warns that harming sexual integrity (especially of a maiden) and violating ritual boundaries around śrāddha are not merely social faults but deep adharmic acts with degrading consequences. It reinforces restraint (saṃyama) and reverence for rites tied to ancestry and life-cycle sanctity.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is dharma-śāstra-like instruction embedded in Purāṇic discourse—normative ethics and ritual correctness rather than the five hallmark topics (sarga etc.). It functions as ancillary dharma teaching within the Purāṇa.

What is the symbolic significance?

The image of eating worms and ants symbolizes moral degradation and the reversal of human dignity: one who exploits purity/innocence or pollutes ancestral rites is depicted as falling into a base, scavenging mode of existence.