Shloka 9
Karma-vipāka: Truth, Yama’s Judgment, and the Marks of Sin in Rebirth
प्रायश्चित्तेष्वचीर्णेषु यमलोका ह्यनेकधा / यातनाभिर्विमुक्ता ये यान्ति ते जीवसन्ततीम्
prāyaścitteṣvacīrṇeṣu yamalokā hyanekadhā / yātanābhirvimuktā ye yānti te jīvasantatīm
Wenn die Sühneriten (prāyaścitta) nicht vollzogen werden, werden die Bereiche Yamas (Yama-loka) vielfältig und zahlreich. Diejenigen, die nach erlittenen Qualen entlassen werden, gehen erneut in den Strom des verkörperten Lebens ein, das heißt in eine weitere Folge von Geburten.
Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda/Vainateya)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: Failure to perform prāyaścitta leads to varied Yama-realms and sufferings; after punishment, beings re-enter saṃsāra (jīva-santati).
Vedantic Theme: Saṃsāra driven by karma; prāyaścitta as karmic mitigation within dharma; bondage persists without deeper purification.
Application: Undertake timely expiation and ethical correction; treat wrongdoing as requiring repair, not denial, to reduce future suffering.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: multiple realms/courts and punitive regions
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: classifications of narakas and punishments; subsequent verses (2.46.10–12) on bodily marks after return.
FAQs
This verse states that neglecting prāyaścitta leads to varied experiences in Yama-loka; expiation is presented as a dharmic means to lessen or avoid punitive suffering tied to karmic faults.
It indicates that a being who has not done expiation may undergo punishments in Yama’s realms; once released from those torments, the jīva continues onward into further embodied existence—implying return to the cycle of births.
Live with accountability: acknowledge wrongdoing, correct it through ethical repair and appropriate religious atonement (as per one’s tradition), and cultivate disciplined conduct to reduce harmful karmic outcomes.