Shloka 9

Mukti-tattva Upadeśa: Knowledge as the Direct Cause of Liberation

Devanagari script

सुखदुः खप्रदैः पुण्यपारूपैर्नियन्त्रिताः / तत्तज्जातियुतं देहमायुर्भोगञ्च कर्मजम्

Transliteration

sukhaduḥ khapradaiḥ puṇyapārūpairniyantritāḥ / tattajjātiyutaṃ dehamāyurbhogañca karmajam

Translation

Dikawal oleh pahala dan dosa—punca yang mendatangkan suka dan duka—makhluk itu memperoleh tubuh yang sesuai dengan keadaan tersebut; jangka hayat dan pengalaman yang dinikmati semuanya lahir daripada karma.

Word by Word

• sukha-duḥkha-pradaiḥ: by (those) giving pleasure and pain
• sukha-duḥkha-pradaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + prada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• puṇya-pāpa-rūpaiḥ: in the forms of merit and sin
• puṇya-pāpa-rūpaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• niyantritāḥ: controlled, restrained
• niyantritāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject; predicate adjective of te/jīvāḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niyantrita (कृदन्त, √yam नि+यम्)
• Form: Past participle (क्त); Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• tat-tat-jāti-yutam: endowed with that-and-that birth/species
• tat-tat-jāti-yutam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + jāti (प्रातिपदिक) + yuta (कृदन्त, √yuj युत)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa; past participle yuta; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with deham

• deham: body
• deham: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• āyuḥ: lifespan
• āyuḥ: Karma (कर्म/object; coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhogam: enjoyment, experience
• bhogam: Karma (कर्म/object; coordinated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction (समुच्चय)

• karma-jam: born of karma
• karma-jam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); adjective to deham/āyuḥ/bhogam (resultant set)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue with Garuda)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Puṇya and pāpa regulate pleasure and pain; accordingly one receives a fitting body, lifespan, and experiences—each karma-born.

Vedantic Theme: karma-phala-niyati within saṃsāra; ethical causality as the mechanism of rebirth and embodied destiny.

Application: Cultivate puṇya through dharmic conduct and devotion; avoid pāpa; accept life circumstances with responsibility and equanimity while working to transcend karma via knowledge/bhakti.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: extensive karma-phala and naraka descriptions elsewhere; this verse provides the causal principle underlying those outcomes

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Vishnu
• Karma
• Puṇya
• Pāpa

FAQs

What is the importance of karma (puṇya and pāpa) in Garuda Purana?

This verse states that merit and sin regulate a being’s happiness and sorrow, and even determine the kind of body, lifespan, and experiences one receives—making karma the governing law of post-death outcomes.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

It frames the soul’s post-death condition as karma-driven: the next embodiment and the pleasures or pains encountered are not random but correspond precisely to accumulated puṇya and pāpa.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with ethical restraint and compassion, since actions shape future embodiment and life-conditions; cultivate puṇya through dharma and reduce pāpa by avoiding harm and deceit.