Shloka 24
Kapila’s Analysis of Materialistic Life, Death, and the Path to Hell
Kāla, Karma, and Yamadūtas
योजनानां सहस्राणि नवतिं नव चाध्वन: । त्रिभिर्मुहूर्तैर्द्वाभ्यां वा नीत: प्राप्नोति यातना: ॥ २४ ॥
yojanānāṁ sahasrāṇi navatiṁ nava cādhvanaḥ tribhir muhūrtair dvābhyāṁ vā nītaḥ prāpnoti yātanāḥ
Thus he has to pass ninety-nine thousand yojanas within two or three moments, and then he is at once engaged in the torturous punishment which he is destined to suffer.
One yojana is calculated to be eight miles, and he has to pass along a road which is therefore as much as 792,000 miles. Such a long distance is passed over within a few moments only. The subtle body is covered by the constables so that the living entity can pass such a long distance quickly and at the same time tolerate the suffering. This covering, although material, is of such fine elements that material scientists cannot discover what the coverings are made of. To pass 792,000 miles within a few moments seems wonderful to the modern space travelers. They have so far traveled at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour, but here we see that a criminal passes 792,000 miles within a few seconds only, although the process is not spiritual but material.
FAQs
This verse states that the departed soul is swiftly carried a vast distance—ninety-nine thousand yojanas—in only two or three muhūrtas, arriving at the region where punitive sufferings are experienced.
In Chapter 30, Śukadeva explains the consequences of fruitive and sinful life; the speed and distance emphasize the inevitability and immediacy of karmic results once one is taken under the jurisdiction of punishment.
It encourages ethical living and bhakti-centered choices now—recognizing that actions have consequences and that devotion to the Lord is the safest path beyond fear of karmic reactions.