Shloka 10
Yama-mārga (Adhvan) and the Courts of Yama: Vaivasvatī and Chitragupta
रुदन्ति दारुणं केचित् केचिद्द्रोहं वदन्ति च / आत्मकर्मकृतैर्देषैः पच्यमाना मुहुर्मुहुः
rudanti dāruṇaṃ kecit keciddrohaṃ vadanti ca / ātmakarmakṛtairdeṣaiḥ pacyamānā muhurmuhuḥ
ചിലർ ദാരുണമായി കരയുന്നു, ചിലർ ദ്രോഹവും വിശ്വാസഘാതവും വിളിച്ചുപറയുന്നു; സ്വന്തം കർമം തീർത്ത പ്രദേശങ്ങളിൽ അവർ വീണ്ടും വീണ്ടും ദഹിക്കപ്പെടുകയും പീഡിക്കപ്പെടുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നു।
Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vainateya)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: Suffering is self-generated: one is tormented in environments constructed by one’s own actions; blaming others is futile.
Vedantic Theme: Kartṛtva-bhoktṛtva (doership/enjoyership) binds; repeated ‘pacyamāna’ signals saṃsāric recurrence until insight and purification.
Application: Replace blame with accountability; practice confession, restitution, and ethical reform; cultivate devotion and detachment to weaken harmful karmic patterns.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: region/zone
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: repeated ‘pacyate’/torment imagery in naraka and yamamārga descriptions; Narrative frame of instruction to Garuḍa: consequences of deeds and the psychology of the departed
FAQs
This verse stresses that the after-death torments are not random; the soul experiences repeated distress in conditions shaped by its own harmful actions (ātma-karma-kṛta).
It depicts pretas undergoing recurring anguish—crying and lamenting—while passing through punitive regions associated with Yama’s domain, where the fruits of their deeds become directly experienced.
Avoid betrayal and harmful conduct (droha), practice ethical restraint, and perform dharmic living and death-related duties so one does not create causes for repeated suffering.