Shloka 1
Karma-vipāka: Rebirths and Bodily Marks Resulting from Specific Sins
नाम त्र्युत्तरशततमो ऽध्यायः श्रागरुडमहापुराणम्- १०४ याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच / नरकात्पताकोद्भूतात्क्षयात्पापस्य कमणः / ब्रह्महा श्वा खरोष्ट्रः स्याद्भेको यकः सुराप्यपि
nāma tryuttaraśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ śrāgaruḍamahāpurāṇam- 104 yājñavalkya uvāca / narakātpatākodbhūtātkṣayātpāpasya kamaṇaḥ / brahmahā śvā kharoṣṭraḥ syādbheko yakaḥ surāpyapi
Yājñavalkya said: When the sinful karma born of grievous transgressions is exhausted through the sufferings of hell, the slayer of a brāhmaṇa is reborn as a dog, a donkey, or a camel; and even the drinker of intoxicants is reborn as a frog, a yak, and the like.
Yājñavalkya
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: Pāpa is exhausted through naraka-experience, yet residual saṃskāra yields specific yonis (dog, donkey, camel, frog, yak).
Vedantic Theme: Karma-phala-niyati within saṃsāra; the jīva’s embodiment follows causal law until knowledge/bhakti ends bondage.
Application: Avoid mahāpātakas (brahmahatyā, surāpāna); cultivate restraint, confession/prāyaścitta, and sattvic conduct to prevent lower rebirth.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: cosmic-judicial realm and rebirth pathway
Related Themes: Garuda Purana (Preta-kalpa): catalogues of pāpa→yoni correspondences; Yama’s adjudication passages; Garuda Purana: sections on mahāpātaka and prāyaścitta as countermeasures
FAQs
This verse states that after the fruits of grave sins are suffered in Naraka, the remaining karmic momentum can still shape one’s next birth, often into lower yonis (animal forms).
It presents a sequence: grievous sin (mahāpātaka) leads to Naraka experience, and after that suffering is exhausted, rebirth occurs in specific non-human forms corresponding to the offense.
Treat severe ethical violations as spiritually consequential; cultivate restraint, avoid harm to the innocent, avoid intoxicant-abuse, and pursue dharmic living and sincere atonement to prevent destructive karmic outcomes.