Shloka 19

Sat-saṅga, Dharma-Nīti, Karma-Phala, Śauca, and Vairāgya

Overcoming Grief

Devanagari script

आत्मना विहितं दुः खमात्मना विहितं सखम् / गर्भशय्यामुपादाय भुङ्क्ते वै पौर्वदैहिकम्

Transliteration

ātmanā vihitaṃ duḥ khamātmanā vihitaṃ sakham / garbhaśayyāmupādāya bhuṅkte vai paurvadaihikam

Translation

الألم الذي سنّه المرء لنفسه، والسرور الذي سنّه المرء لنفسه—فإذا اتخذ مضجع الرحم، ذاق حقًّا ثمار ما يخصّ الجسد السابق، أي كارما التجسّد الماضي.

Word by Word

• आत्मना: by oneself
• आत्मना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• विहितम्: ordained; brought about
• विहितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + √धा (धातु) → विहित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म-विशेषण

• दुःखम्: sorrow; suffering
• दुःखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• आत्मना: by oneself
• आत्मना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• विहितम्: ordained; brought about
• विहितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + √धा (धातु) → विहित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म-विशेषण

• सुखम्: happiness
• सुखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गर्भशय्याम्: the womb-bed
• गर्भशय्याम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ + शय्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गर्भस्य शय्या)

• उपादाय: having taken; having assumed
• उपादाय: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उप + आ + √दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• भुङ्क्ते: experiences; enjoys/suffers
• भुङ्क्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• पौर्वदैहिकम्: from a former body; previous-bodily (karma/result)
• पौर्वदैहिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पौर्व + दैहिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (पूर्वं दैहिकम्)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue instruction to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Pleasure and pain are self-ordained; upon taking the womb-bed, one experiences the fruits of prior embodiment (pūrvadehika).

Vedantic Theme: Saṃsāra continuity through saṃskāras and karma; embodiment as the field of bhoga; the need for liberation to end repeated entry into garbha.

Application: Let suffering/happiness prompt ethical reform; cultivate practices that reduce future bondage (dharma, devotion, self-knowledge), and develop compassion toward beings undergoing unseen karmic burdens.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: bodily/liminal space

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: descriptions of jīva’s passage and the role of karma in taking new bodies (general thematic parallel)

FAQs

What is the importance of karma in this Garuda Purana verse?

It states that both pain and pleasure are self-produced through one’s own actions, and that these results ripen even from the time one enters the womb in the next birth.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

It links rebirth to moral causality: the jīva takes another embodiment and undergoes the stored consequences of prior-life deeds (paurva-dehika karma).

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Take responsibility for choices: cultivate dharma and restraint, since present actions become future experiences—both in this life and across rebirth.