Shloka 46

आत्यन्तिक-लयहेतुः: तापत्रय-विवेचनम् तथा ‘भगवान्/वासुदेव’ शब्दार्थः

Threefold Suffering and the Path to Final Liberation; Meaning of Bhagavān and Vāsudeva

Devanagari script

क्रकचैः पाट्यमानानां मूषायां चापि धम्यताम् कुठारैः कृत्यमानानां भूमौ चापि निखन्यताम्

Transliteration

krakacaiḥ pāṭyamānānāṃ mūṣāyāṃ cāpi dhamyatām kuṭhāraiḥ kṛtyamānānāṃ bhūmau cāpi nikhanyatām

Translation

在地狱中，有的被锯齿利锯锯裂；有的被投入炉中，又以风箱鼓风焚烧。有的被斧钺劈砍，有的被埋入土中——各各随自业所感，受其相应之苦。

Word by Word

• क्रकचैः: with saws
• क्रकचैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रकच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन — Instrumental plural

• पाट्यमानानाम्: of those being sawn/cut
• पाट्यमानानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पट् (धातु) → पाट्यमान (कृदन्त, कर्मणि वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त/वर्तमानकृदन्त)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन; विशेषण (जनानाम्) — Genitive plural; passive present participle

• मूषायाम्: in a furnace/crucible
• मूषायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूषा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय — conjunction

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/अपि-कारक अव्यय — particle

• धम्यताम्: let them be blown/forced (with bellows)
• धम्यताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग — Imperative, 3rd person plural, passive

• कुठारैः: with axes
• कुठारैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुठार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन — Instrumental plural

• कृत्यमानानाम्: of those being cut/struck
• कृत्यमानानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत् (धातु) → कृत्यमान (कृदन्त, कर्मणि वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त/वर्तमानकृदन्त)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन; विशेषण (जनानाम्) — Genitive plural; passive present participle

• भूमौ: on the ground
• भूमौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय — conjunction

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/अपि-कारक अव्यय — particle

• निखन्यताम्: let them be buried
• निखन्यताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: खन् (धातु) उपसर्गः नि-
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग — Imperative, 3rd person plural, passive

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Consequences of sin, naraka-torments, and the mechanics of karmaphala after death

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Each torment in Naraka corresponds precisely to one’s own actions, showing karma as an inexorable moral law.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat suffering (and its causes) as preventable by restraint, non-violence, and truthful living; cultivate repentance and corrective action now.

Vishishtadvaita: Karmaphala operates under Īśvara’s governance: moral causality is not random but ordered within the Lord’s cosmic administration.

FAQs

What is the significance of Naraka punishments in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse emphasizes karmic precision: suffering is portrayed as a direct, proportionate consequence of one’s actions, reinforcing dharma as a binding cosmic order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the working of karma here?

By listing concrete punishments (sawing, burning, hewing, burial), Parāśara illustrates that karma is not abstract—it manifests as specific results shaped by specific misdeeds, within an ordered moral cosmos.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the framework assumes a Vishnu-governed universe where dharma and karmic outcomes operate as expressions of the Supreme Reality’s sustaining sovereignty.