Shloka 28
Preta-mārga Supports (Dāna), Chitragupta’s Accounting, and the Enumeration of Narakas
विकर्मणः प्रभावेण वंशच्छेदे क्षिताविह / सर्वे ते नरकं यान्ति यावत्पापस्य संक्षयः
vikarmaṇaḥ prabhāveṇa vaṃśacchede kṣitāviha / sarve te narakaṃ yānti yāvatpāpasya saṃkṣayaḥ
വികർമത്തിന്റെ പ്രഭാവത്താൽ ഇവിടെ ഭൂമിയിൽ വംശച്ഛേദം സംഭവിച്ചാൽ, അവർ എല്ലാവരും നരകത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുന്നു; പാപം ക്ഷയിക്കുന്നതുവരെ അവിടെ തന്നെ കഴിയുന്നു।
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: Vikarma (forbidden acts) can destroy lineage and lead to collective/connected suffering in naraka until pāpa-kṣaya.
Vedantic Theme: Karma-niyati: inevitable fruition of adharma; saṃsāric bondage sustained by pāpa and its exhaustion through suffering.
Application: Avoid prohibited actions; protect family and community through ethical livelihood, restraint, and timely prāyaścitta when wrongdoing occurs.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: human realm
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: naraka descriptions and pāpa-kṣaya doctrine (broad internal parallel); Garuda Purana: sections on vikarma, prāyaścitta, and śrāddha as remedial supports (thematic parallel)
FAQs
This verse treats vikarma as spiritually destructive: its force can lead to vaṃśaccheda (break in lineage and dharmic continuity) and results in Naraka until the accumulated pāpa is fully exhausted.
It presents a karmic sequence: vikarma produces heavy demerit, leading to Naraka (hellish states) where suffering continues for a fixed duration—only until pāpa-saṃkṣaya, the depletion of that sin’s results.
Avoid clearly prohibited, harmful actions (vikarma) and prioritize dharmic conduct that supports family stability and moral continuity; the verse frames ethics as having long-term consequences beyond one lifetime.