Shloka 89
Yamamārga, Antyeṣṭi-vidhi, and Daśāhika Piṇḍa-dāna
Road to Yama and Ten-Day Offerings
सुखस्य दुः खस्य न कोपि दाता परो ददातीति कुबुद्धिरेषा / पुरा कृतं कर्म सदैव भुज्यते देहिन्क्वचिन्निस्तर यत्त्वया कृतम्
sukhasya duḥ khasya na kopi dātā paro dadātīti kubuddhireṣā / purā kṛtaṃ karma sadaiva bhujyate dehinkvacinnistara yattvayā kṛtam
No one else is the giver of one’s happiness or suffering; the notion that another bestows them is misguided. Deeds done in the past are inevitably experienced by the embodied being—there is no escaping what you yourself have done.
Lord Vishnu (teaching Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: No external agent gives happiness or sorrow; one inevitably experiences one’s own past deeds—there is no evasion of self-made karma.
Vedantic Theme: Kartṛtva-bhoktṛtva linkage under avidyā; moral causality (karma-niyama) governing saṁsāra.
Application: Stop outsourcing responsibility; align choices with long-term consequences; cultivate sattvic actions and restraint.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: repeated maxim ‘svakṛtaṁ karma bhujyate’ style statements in judgment contexts
FAQs
This verse states that happiness and suffering arise from one’s own past deeds; therefore, the soul’s post-death experiences are governed by karma, not by arbitrary external giving.
By emphasizing that the dehin (embodied soul) must inevitably ‘experience’ past karma, it frames the afterlife journey as a karmic unfolding where results ripen and are undergone without escape.
Take responsibility for choices: cultivate dharmic actions, reduce harm, and practice self-discipline—because the results of deeds are ultimately borne by oneself.