Shloka 56
Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas
सूकरे ब्रह्महा मज्जेत्सुरापः स्वर्णतस्करः / ताले पतेत्क्षत्त्रहन्ता हत्वा वैश्यं च दुर्गतिः
sūkare brahmahā majjetsurāpaḥ svarṇataskaraḥ / tāle patetkṣattrahantā hatvā vaiśyaṃ ca durgatiḥ
ബ്രാഹ്മണഹന്താവ് പന്നിയുടെ യോനിയിൽ മുങ്ങുന്നു. സുരാപാനി സ്വർണ്ണമോഷ്ടാവാകുന്നു. ക്ഷത്രിയഹന്താവ് താളവൃക്ഷത്തിൽ സ്ഥാവരജന്മമായി പതിക്കുന്നു; വൈശ്യഹന്താവ് ദുര്ഗതി പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.
Lord Vishnu (in dialogue instructing Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni
Concept: Mahāpātaka-like acts yield degraded rebirths: brahmahatyā leading to animal womb; other grave sins leading to ignoble conditions and immobilized birth.
Vedantic Theme: Saṁsāra-bandha through pāpa; embodiment as a pedagogic consequence; guṇa-tamas predominance leading to lower births.
Application: Cultivate ahimsa and reverence toward life; avoid intoxicants and theft; seek prāyaścitta and sattvic reform to prevent karmic downfall.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: transitional karmic destinies (yoni/embodiment outcomes)
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: yoni-janma results for sins; lists of pāpa leading to animal/plant births in related chapters
FAQs
This verse links specific grave harms (killing members of varṇas, intoxication, theft) to concrete negative rebirth outcomes, reinforcing dharma through the doctrine of karmic consequence.
It indicates that unresolved pāpa can propel the jīva toward degraded or painful destinies—such as low births or immobilized states—consistent with Yama’s karmic adjudication described in the Preta Kanda.
Avoid violence, exploitation, and intoxication-driven harm; practice restitution and ethical restraint (ahiṃsā, satya, asteya) to prevent destructive karmic outcomes.