SB 5.26.3 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अथेदानीं प्रतिषिद्धलक्षणस्याधर्मस्य तथैव कर्तु: श्रद्धाया वैसाद‍ृश्यात्कर्मफलं विसद‍ृशं भवति या ह्यनाद्यविद्यया कृतकामानां तत्परिणामलक्षणा: सृतय: सहस्रश: प्रवृत्तास्तासां प्राचुर्येणानुवर्णयिष्याम: ॥ ३ ॥

Verse text

athedānīṁ pratiṣiddha-lakṣaṇasyādharmasya tathaiva kartuḥ śraddhāyā vaisādṛśyāt karma-phalaṁ visadṛśaṁ bhavati yā hy anādy-avidyayā kṛta-kāmānāṁ tat-pariṇāma-lakṣaṇāḥ sṛtayaḥ sahasraśaḥ pravṛttās tāsāṁ prācuryeṇānuvarṇayiṣyāmaḥ.

Synonyms

atha — thus ; idānīm — now ; pratiṣiddha — by what is forbidden ; lakṣaṇasya — symptomized ; adharmasya — of impious activities ; tathā — so also ; eva — certainly ; kartuḥ — of the performer ; śraddhāyāḥ — of faith ; vaisādṛśyāt — by the difference ; karma — phalam — the reaction of fruitive activities ; visadṛśam — different ; bhavati — is ; yā — which ; hi — indeed ; anādi — from time immemorial ; avidyayā — by ignorance ; kṛta — performed ; kāmānām — of persons possessing many lusty desires ; tat — pariṇāma — lakṣaṇāḥ — the symptoms of the results of such impious desires ; sṛtayaḥ — hellish conditions of life ; sahasraśaḥ — by thousands upon thousands ; pravṛttāḥ — resulted ; tāsām — them ; prācuryeṇa — very widely ; anuvarṇayiṣyāmaḥ — I shall explain .

Translation

Just as by executing various pious activities one achieves different positions in heavenly life, by acting impiously one achieves different positions in hellish life. Those who are activated by the material mode of ignorance engage in impious activities, and according to the extent of their ignorance, they are placed in different grades of hellish life. If one acts in the mode of ignorance because of madness, his resulting misery is the least severe. One who acts impiously but knows the distinction between pious and impious activities is placed in a hell of intermediate severity. And for one who acts impiously and ignorantly because of atheism, the resultant hellish life is the worst. Because of ignorance, every living entity has been carried by various desires into thousands of different hellish planets since time immemorial. I shall try to describe them as far as possible.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

For the performer of forbidden acts of adharma, as with the performer of dharma, there are varieties of results for actions according to differences in faith of the performer. The destinations for performing acts out of desire caused by beginningless ignorance are merely transformations of those desires, with thousands of varieties. Among these destinations I shall describe in the detail the various hells. The results of performing dharma according to scriptures have been described already as happiness on Svarga on earth, heaven or below the earth. The results of adharma, in the form of the suffering in hell should also be described. Just as for the performer of dharma (tathā), for the performer of adharma characterized by forbidden acts, by his faith with different degrees of tamas, results appear. By performing adharma due to inattention, there is a small amount of tamas. By performing sin with knowledge there is greater amount of tamas. By performing sin with complete rejection of God there is complete tamas. The cause of the three types of tamas is explained. The jīva has ignorance without beginning. It is impossible to say when or how the jīva developed a relationship with ignorance. The results of desires arising by the jīva’s beginningless ignorance of three types are transformations of those desires. Among the destinations I will describe in detail the various hells.