Shloka 10

Karma-vipāka: Truth, Yama’s Judgment, and the Marks of Sin in Rebirth

Devanagari script

गत्वा मानुषभावे तु पापचिह्ना भवन्ति ते / तान्यहं तव चिह्नानि कथयिष्ये खगोत्तम

Transliteration

gatvā mānuṣabhāve tu pāpacihnā bhavanti te / tānyahaṃ tava cihnāni kathayiṣye khagottama

Translation

When they enter human existence again, they bear the marks of sin. I shall now tell you those signs, O best of birds, Garuda.

Word by Word

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having gone’

• mānuṣa-bhāve: in the human state/birth
• mānuṣa-bhāve: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: ‘of humans’ + ‘state’)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha/Avyaya (सम्बन्ध/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/अव्यय (particle), contrast/emphasis

• pāpa-cihnāḥ: sin-marked (persons)
• pāpa-cihnāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + cihna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (‘sinful’ + ‘marked’)

• bhavanti: become/are
• bhavanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता) सह-सम्बन्ध
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• tāni: those (things)
• tāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• cihnāni: marks/signs
• cihnāni: Karma (कर्म) (apposition to tāni)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cihna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• kathayiṣye: I will tell
• kathayiṣye: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathaya (कथय, णिच् causative of kath/kathe) (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• khaga-uttama: O best of birds
• khaga-uttama: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaga (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘among birds’ + ‘best’)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Karmic residues (pāpa-cihna) accompany the jīva into human birth as embodied indicators.

Vedantic Theme: Karma’s saṃskāra/vasanā imprinting the subtle body and expressing through the gross body; continuity across births.

Application: Interpret suffering/limitations as prompts for ethical introspection and reform (without cruelty or fatalism); prioritize purification practices.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: didactic setting (dialogue)

Cross References

Related Themes: Immediate continuation into 2.46.11–12 listing specific pāpa-cihnas; broader Pretakalpa sections on karma-phala and rebirth.

Characters & Entities

• Garuda

FAQs

What is the importance of pāpa-cihna (signs of sin) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse introduces the doctrine that karmic sins leave recognizable “marks” that manifest when a soul takes human birth again, making moral causality observable in lived experience.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

It frames the after-death journey as continuing into rebirth: after experiencing post-mortem consequences, the jīva returns to human life carrying karmic imprints that appear as identifiable signs.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat present circumstances as ethically meaningful outcomes of past actions and focus on dharma, repentance, and virtuous conduct to avoid creating further harmful karmic traces.