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
Dengan kekuatan vikarma—perbuatan terlarang dan berdosa—apabila keturunan terputus di bumi ini, semuanya pergi ke neraka dan tinggal di sana hingga dosa mereka habis terhapus.
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.