Shloka 29
दशाष्टदोषरहितं कृत कर्म लिखत्यसौ / चित्रगुप्तालयात् आच्यां ज्वरस्यास्ति महागृहम्
daśāṣṭadoṣarahitaṃ kṛta karma likhatyasau / citraguptālayāt ācyāṃ jvarasyāsti mahāgṛham
പതിനെട്ടു ദോഷങ്ങളില്ലാത്ത ആ ചിത്രഗുപ്തൻ ചെയ്ത കര്മ്മങ്ങളെ എഴുതി രേഖപ്പെടുത്തുന്നു। ചിത്രഗുപ്താലയത്തിനടുത്ത് ജ്വരത്തിന്റെ മഹാഗൃഹം നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു।
Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Dosha: Pitta
Concept: Citragupta, free from the eighteen faults, accurately records performed actions; cosmic justice is meticulous and impartial.
Vedantic Theme: Ṛta/dharma as an impersonal order; the inevitability of karmic audit (karmāṇi likhyante) supporting ethical restraint.
Application: Live as if every act is accountable; reduce the ‘eighteen faults’ (doṣa) such as partiality, negligence, anger, greed, etc., in one’s own judgments and record-keeping.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: court/abode (ālaya) and adjacent great house (mahāgṛha)
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: descriptions of Citragupta, his scribal function, and Yama’s court (2.33 context); Garuda Purana: lists of doṣas/qualities of dharma-administrators in related passages
FAQs
This verse presents Chitragupta as the impartial scribe who records every performed karma without error, forming the basis for Yama’s judgment.
It situates the soul’s post-death journey within Yama’s administrative order: deeds are documented by Chitragupta, and the route includes fearful domains such as the ‘house of Jvara,’ indicating suffering that can accompany sinful karma.
Live with accountability—act ethically and avoid harmful deeds—because the tradition frames karma as precisely recorded and consequential, shaping one’s experience after death.