Namaste

What is the Sanskrit word and meaning of the word(s) translated into English as ‚curse‘?

My impression when I hear curse, respectively the equivalent in my language, is the worst possible punishment leading to ruin.

But reading mythology ‚curse‘ seems to me to denote a change, being a medium leading an individual to his final destination as required by its karma. It is not a punishment at all.

There are even curses which occure later as a boon - Arjuna is cursed by Urvashi to become an eunuch. The curse turned into a boon at Viratas court.

Mahabharata is interwoven with curses all leading to a final point, good or bad. There is no curse without an 'end', no individual is lost in his curse.

I am sure that the Sanskrit word for curse has – like so many Sanskrit words – no equivalent or close match in English and is therefore just translated as curse.

Pranam