Shloka 5
Yamamārga, Antyeṣṭi-vidhi, and Daśāhika Piṇḍa-dāna
Road to Yama and Ten-Day Offerings
निमित्तमात्रं सर्वेषां कृतकर्मानुसारतः / यस्य यो विहितो मृत्युः स तं ध्रुवमवाप्नुयात्
nimittamātraṃ sarveṣāṃ kṛtakarmānusārataḥ / yasya yo vihito mṛtyuḥ sa taṃ dhruvamavāpnuyāt
For all beings, external causes are only incidental, in accordance with the deeds they have performed. Whatever kind of death has been ordained for a person, that very death he surely attains.
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vainateya)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: Nimitta (external triggers) are incidental; the decisive cause is one’s performed karma, which determines the manner of death.
Vedantic Theme: Karma as the unseen determinant (adṛṣṭa) operating through apparent causes; distinction between instrumental cause and deeper causal law.
Application: Live as though outcomes are shaped by character and deeds; reduce harmful actions; cultivate steady spiritual practice and preparedness for death.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: karma-phala determinism in death and afterlife; teachings on inevitability of Yama’s summons and the role of dharma/dāna
FAQs
This verse states that the apparent causes of death are only instruments; the decisive factor is one’s own performed karma, which fixes the destined manner of death.
By asserting that death unfolds according to karma, it frames the post-death journey (preta state and onward consequences) as a lawful continuation of moral causation rather than random accident.
Treat life as ethically consequential: cultivate dharma, reduce harmful actions, and perform sincere repentance and meritorious deeds, since outcomes—including the end of life—are shaped by one’s conduct.