Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 55
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
यथा सतीनां हिमवत्सुता हि यथार्जुनीनां कपिला वरिष्ठा यथा वृषाणामपि नीलवर्णो यथैव सर्वेष्वपि दुःसहेषु दुर्गेषु रौद्रेषु निशाचरेश नृपातनं वैतरणी प्रधाना
yathā satīnāṃ himavatsutā hi yathārjunīnāṃ kapilā variṣṭhā yathā vṛṣāṇāmapi nīlavarṇo yathaiva sarveṣvapi duḥsaheṣu durgeṣu raudreṣu niśācareśa nṛpātanaṃ vaitaraṇī pradhānā
“如同喜马瓦特（Himavat）之女帕尔瓦蒂（Pārvatī）在贞善妇女中最为殊胜；如同迦毗罗（Kapilā）在阿尔朱尼（Arjunī，一类/一系）之中最为殊胜；如同青色之雄牛在诸牛中最为殊胜——同样，夜行者之主啊，在一切可怖、难忍、凶猛而险恶的渡越之中，毗多罗尼（Vaitaraṇī）最为卓绝，被称为“倾覆君王者”（nṛpātana）。”
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FAQs
The verse uses recognized ‘ideals’ (Pārvatī among satīs; exemplary animals among their kinds) to underscore discernment about what is truly foremost—including recognition of the most formidable obstacles (Vaitaraṇī) that symbolize the gravest trials of embodied existence and moral consequence.
It is not a direct treatment of sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita. It serves as moral-theological amplification (stuti/upadeśa) that can accompany tīrtha-māhātmya or dharma instruction depending on the surrounding chapter.
Himavatsutā represents steadfast dharma and auspicious power; the exemplary animals represent strength and excellence in worldly categories; Vaitaraṇī represents the ultimate ‘crossing’—death/afterlife accountability—thereby shifting the reader from everyday superlatives to existential seriousness.