Shloka 58
Nārada Explains the Allegory of King Purañjana
Deha–Indriya–Manaḥ Mapping and the Remedy of Bhakti
कर्माण्यारभते येन पुमानिह विहाय तम् । अमुत्रान्येन देहेन जुष्टानि स यदश्नुते ॥ ५८ ॥
karmāṇy ārabhate yena pumān iha vihāya tam amutrānyena dehena juṣṭāni sa yad aśnute
Whatever deeds a living being undertakes in this life bear their fruits in the next life, to be enjoyed or suffered in another body.
A person generally does not know how one body is linked with another body. How is it possible that one suffers or enjoys the results of activities in this body in yet another body in the next life? This is a question the King wants Nārada Muni to answer. How may one have a human body in this life and not have a human body in the next? Even great philosophers and scientists cannot account for the transferal of karma from one body to another. As we experience, every individual soul has an individual body, and one person’s activities or one body’s activities are not enjoyed or suffered by another body or another person. The question is how the activities of one body are suffered or enjoyed in the next.
FAQs
This verse states that the deeds begun in this life yield results that the soul experiences later, after leaving the present body, in another place and another body.
Nārada was redirecting the king from fruitive ritualism toward spiritual understanding—showing that worldly actions bind one to future bodies where their results must be experienced.
Act responsibly and consciously, knowing choices have lasting consequences; prioritize sādhana and devotion so actions become purifying rather than binding.