Shloka 29
Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas
यावद्वर्षसहस्राणि न तेषां स्थितिरन्तरा / घटीयन्त्रेषु बद्वा ये बद्धा तोयवटी यथा
yāvadvarṣasahasrāṇi na teṣāṃ sthitirantarā / ghaṭīyantreṣu badvā ye baddhā toyavaṭī yathā
Selama beribu-ribu tahun sebagaimana yang dituntut oleh perbuatan mereka, tiada rehat bagi mereka. Terikat pada roda air seksaan, mereka kekal terikat seperti beg air kulit.
Lord Vishnu (in dialogue instruction to Garuda)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: Karmic punishment persists without interval until the specific phala is exhausted; time in naraka is proportionate to deed.
Vedantic Theme: Anādi karma and its fruition; saṃsāric time as a binding force when ignorance-driven action continues.
Application: Do not postpone reform; undertake prāyaścitta and cultivate sattva now, since consequences can be long and uninterrupted.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: infernal mechanical apparatus (ghatīyantra/toya-vatī imagery)
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: duration formulas ‘yāvadvarṣasahasrāṇi’ used across naraka accounts; Adjacent wheel-torment imagery in 2.3.28 and bodily gore in 2.3.30
FAQs
This verse uses the water-lifting device (ghaṭī-yantra) as a concrete metaphor for repetitive, unbroken suffering—showing how karmic punishment can be continuous, mechanical, and without interval until its term is exhausted.
It indicates that certain souls (preta-like sufferers in Yama’s domain) undergo time-bound punishments with no ‘antarā’ (gap or respite), emphasizing that post-death experiences follow the momentum of karma until its results are fully lived through.
Treat actions as long-term causes: cultivate restraint, truthfulness, and compassion, and follow dharmic conduct—so that one avoids karmic patterns that the text portrays as leading to prolonged, uninterrupted suffering.