Shloka 26
Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas
तावद्यावदशेषं च तत्पापं संक्षयं गतम् / अप्रातष्ठं च नरकं शृणुष्व गदतो मम
tāvadyāvadaśeṣaṃ ca tatpāpaṃ saṃkṣayaṃ gatam / aprātaṣṭhaṃ ca narakaṃ śṛṇuṣva gadato mama
ആ പാപം പൂർണ്ണമായി ക്ഷയിക്കുവോളം ആ നരകാവസ്ഥയ്ക്ക് ആശ്വാസമില്ല; ഞാൻ പറയുന്നതു ശ്രവിക്കൂ।
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: Naraka persists 'so long as' sin remains; cessation comes with kṣaya (exhaustion) of papa—suffering is temporally bounded by karmic residue.
Vedantic Theme: Karma-kṣaya as a condition for transition; saṃsāric states persist until causal impressions are exhausted.
Application: Aim for papa-kṣaya through ethical living, confession/expiation, and sustained spiritual practice rather than postponing reform.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: doctrinal statement about naraka duration
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: repeated formulae 'yāvat pāpaṃ na kṣīyate' across naraka descriptions; Garuda Purana: transitions from one naraka to another based on remaining karma
FAQs
This verse states that the stay in Naraka continues only as long as the accumulated sin remains; when the sin is fully exhausted, that specific punitive experience ends.
It frames the after-death suffering as a karmic process: the departed undergoes painful states until the particular pāpa responsible is depleted, after which the journey proceeds onward.
Treat actions as having consequences that must be faced; reduce harmful conduct and cultivate dharma so that future suffering born of pāpa is minimized.