Shloka 17
Karma-vipāka: Truth, Yama’s Judgment, and the Marks of Sin in Rebirth
मात्सर्यादपि जात्यन्धो जन्मान्धः पुस्तकं हरन् / फलान्याहरतो ऽपत्यं म्रियते नात्र संशयः
mātsaryādapi jātyandho janmāndhaḥ pustakaṃ haran / phalānyāharato 'patyaṃ mriyate nātra saṃśayaḥ
Out of envy one becomes blind by nature—indeed blind from birth—and steals a book. And the child of one who takes away another’s fruits dies; of this there is no doubt.
Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Mātsarya (envy) and theft—especially of knowledge (book)—ripen into congenital blindness; taking others’ fruits leads to loss of one’s own offspring.
Vedantic Theme: Karmic correspondence between intention (envy), act (theft), and result (privation of sight/lineage); suffering as moral feedback within samsara.
Application: Cultivate muditā (non-envious joy), respect intellectual property and learning, avoid exploitation of others’ livelihood (‘fruits’), and practice restitution when harm is done.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.46 (envy/theft and specific karmaphala)
FAQs
It links specific acts of adharma—stealing a book and stealing fruits—to concrete karmic results, emphasizing that envy-driven wrongdoing harms both the doer and their family line.
In the Preta Kanda’s catalog of misdeeds, it illustrates a cause-and-effect model: envy and theft are not merely social crimes but karmic causes producing suffering (such as disability or loss of offspring).
Avoid envy-based actions and all forms of theft—including intellectual theft or taking what is offered to others—since the text frames such acts as spiritually corrosive and socially destructive.