Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 41
The Forest of Material Existence (Saṁsāra-vana) and the Delivering Path of Bharata’s Teachings
कर्मवल्लीमवलम्ब्य तत आपद: कथञ्चिन्नरकाद्विमुक्त: पुनरप्येवं संसाराध्वनि वर्तमानो नरलोकसार्थमुपयाति एवमुपरि गतोऽपि ॥ ४१ ॥
karma-vallīm avalambya tata āpadaḥ kathañcin narakād vimuktaḥ punar apy evaṁ saṁsārādhvani vartamāno nara-loka-sārtham upayāti evam upari gato ’pi.
When the conditioned soul accepts the shelter of the creeper of fruitive activity, he may be elevated by his pious activities to higher planetary systems and thus gain liberation from hellish conditions, but unfortunately he cannot remain there. After reaping the results of his pious activities, he has to return to the lower planetary systems. In this way he perpetually goes up and comes down.
In this regard Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says:
FAQs
This verse explains that even if one is relieved from severe suffering (likened to hell), if one still clings to fruitive work (karma) without higher spiritual shelter, one returns again to worldly association and continues the cycle of material life.
A vine entangles and pulls one in many directions; similarly, karma binds the soul through endless reactions and new desires, making one repeatedly “rise” from one danger only to be caught again in another situation within saṁsāra.
Don’t measure progress only as relief from problems; shift from karma-centered living to God-centered living—reduce attachment to results, seek sādhana and sattvic company, and cultivate bhakti so that improvement becomes lasting rather than temporary.