Shloka 6

Karma-vipāka: Truth, Yama’s Judgment, and the Marks of Sin in Rebirth

Devanagari script

यांयां योनिमवाप्नोति यथारूपश्च जायते / तन्मे वद सुरश्रेष्ठ समासेनापि काङ्क्षितम्

Transliteration

yāṃyāṃ yonimavāpnoti yathārūpaśca jāyate / tanme vada suraśreṣṭha samāsenāpi kāṅkṣitam

Translation

Welche Gebärmutter ein Wesen auch erlangt und in welcher Gestalt es auch geboren wird—sage es mir, o Bester der Götter, wenn auch nur kurz; denn ich sehne mich nach Erkenntnis.

Word by Word

• yām yām: whatever (each)
• yām yām: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (pronoun) used adjectivally, strīliṅga (feminine), dvitīyā-vibhakti (accusative), ekavacana (singular); repetition indicates distributive ‘whatever/each’

• yonim: womb/birth-state
• yonim: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoni (योनि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), dvitīyā-vibhakti (accusative), ekavacana (singular)

• avāpnoti: attains/obtains
• avāpnoti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (आप् धातु) + ava- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (present), prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), ekavacana (singular), parasmaipada

• yathā-rūpaḥ: of corresponding form
• yathā-rūpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yathā (यथा) + rūpa (रूप)
• Form: Avyayībhāva-samāsa (yathā + rūpa = ‘according to form’), puṃliṅga (masculine), prathamā-vibhakti (nominative), ekavacana (singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction (समुच्चय)

• jāyate: is born
• jāyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (जन् धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (present), prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), ekavacana (singular), ātmanepada

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (pronoun), napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter), dvitīyā-vibhakti (accusative), ekavacana (singular)

• me: to me/for me
• me: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/for me)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti (genitive) or caturthī sense in usage; ekavacana (singular) enclitic

• vada: tell/say
• vada: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (वद् धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (imperative), madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person), ekavacana (singular), parasmaipada

• sura-śreṣṭha: O best of gods
• sura-śreṣṭha: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (सुर) + śreṣṭha (श्रेष्ठ)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘best of the gods’), puṃliṅga (masculine), sambodhana (vocative), ekavacana (singular)

• samāsena: briefly/in summary
• samāsena: Karaṇa (करण/manner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samāsa (समास प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine) or napuṃsakaliṅga usage; tṛtīyā-vibhakti (instrumental), ekavacana (singular)

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, particle (निपात)

• kāṅkṣitam: desired/sought
• kāṅkṣitam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāṅkṣ (काङ्क्ष् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta past passive participle (क्त), napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter), prathamā-vibhakti (nominative), ekavacana (singular); agrees with implied ‘etat’

Speaker

Garuda (Vinata-putra), addressing Lord Vishnu (Hari)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Beings attain various yonis and forms according to causes; the seeker requests a summarized account of this law.

Vedantic Theme: Saṃsāra’s variety as projection of karma and guṇas; the discriminative impulse (viveka) begins with understanding bondage’s mechanics.

Application: Use knowledge of karmic causality to cultivate sattva and ethical living; reduce actions that entrench lower tendencies; seek guidance from the wise.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: enumerations of births, signs, and karmic causes; discourse format of question leading to systematic teaching

Characters & Entities

• Devas

FAQs

What is the importance of yoni (womb/species) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse frames yoni as the specific mode of rebirth a being attains, implying a karmic link between past actions and the next embodied condition.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

It presents the core inquiry of the afterlife narrative: how the jiva, after death and transition, comes to be born again in a particular species and form, which the text attributes to karmic causation explained in the surrounding discourse.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with restraint and dharma-minded choices, remembering that actions shape future conditions of life—one’s “form” and circumstances are treated as consequences, not accidents.