Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 2
Naraka-varṇana: The Hellish Planets and the Karmic Logic of Punishment
ऋषिरुवाच त्रिगुणत्वात्कर्तु: श्रद्धया कर्मगतय: पृथग्विधा: सर्वा एव सर्वस्य तारतम्येन भवन्ति ॥ २ ॥
ṛṣir uvāca tri-guṇatvāt kartuḥ śraddhayā karma-gatayaḥ pṛthag-vidhāḥ sarvā eva sarvasya tāratamyena bhavanti.
The great sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, in this material world there are three kinds of activities — those in the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of ignorance. Because all people are influenced by the three modes of material nature, the results of their activities are also divided into three. One who acts in the mode of goodness is religious and happy, one who acts in passion achieves mixed misery and happiness, and one who acts under the influence of ignorance is always unhappy and lives like an animal. Because of the varying degrees to which the living entities are influenced by the different modes of nature, their destinations are also of different varieties.
FAQs
This verse states that because the doer is influenced by the three modes, his faith and actions vary, producing many different karmic destinations with higher and lower gradations.
He links destinations—including suffering realms—to the inner orientation of a person: faith shaped by the gunas drives specific actions, and those actions lead to corresponding results.
Examine what shapes your faith and choices (goodness, passion, ignorance), cultivate sāttvika habits and devotion, and align actions with dharma to avoid degrading karmic outcomes.