Shloka 31

Sat-saṅga, Dharma-Nīti, Karma-Phala, Śauca, and Vairāgya

Overcoming Grief

Devanagari script

अनीक्षमाणो ऽपि नरो विदेशस्थो ऽपि मानवः / स्वकर्मपातवातेन नीयते यत्र तत्फलम्

Transliteration

anīkṣamāṇo 'pi naro videśastho 'pi mānavaḥ / svakarmapātavātena nīyate yatra tatphalam

Translation

மனிதன் கவனிக்காவிட்டாலும், அயல்நாட்டில் இருந்தாலும், தன் கர்மத்தின் தள்ளும் காற்றால் அவன் அந்தக் கர்மபலன் அனுபவிக்க வேண்டிய இடத்திற்கே இட்டுச் செல்லப்படுகிறான்.

Word by Word

• an-īkṣamāṇaḥ: even not looking (unaware)
• an-īkṣamāṇaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an- (नञ्) + īkṣamāṇa (कृदन्त; √īkṣ (धातु))
• Form: नञ्-पूर्वक वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्; īkṣamāṇa), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (नरः)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-कारक-अव्यय (concessive particle: even/also)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• videśa-sthaḥ: dwelling in a foreign land
• videśa-sthaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: videśa (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त; √sthā (धातु))
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (विदेशे स्थितः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (मानवः/नरः)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-कारक-अव्यय (concessive particle)

• mānavaḥ: a human
• mānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• sva-karma-pāta-vātena: by the wind of the fall/force of one's own karma
• sva-karma-pāta-vātena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक) + pāta (प्रातिपदिक) + vāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (स्वकर्मणः पातः = पतन/आघातः; तस्य वातः इव), पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• nīyate: is led/carried
• nīyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nī (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/सम्बन्धवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• tat-phalam: its result
• tat-phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तस्य फलम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Karmic momentum (svakarma-pāta-vāta) carries the person to the precise locus where results must be experienced, regardless of awareness or location.

Vedantic Theme: Prārabdha as a directing force shaping circumstances; apparent chance and travel are subordinated to causal moral order.

Application: Do not rely on relocation or concealment to avoid consequences; cultivate right action and inner vigilance wherever one lives.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: region/foreign country

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: the jīva is led by karmic forces to appropriate experiences; inevitability of phala

FAQs

What is the importance of karma phala (fruit of actions) in Garuda Purana?

This verse states that karmic results are unavoidable—one is inevitably led to the circumstance or place where those results must be experienced, regardless of awareness or location.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

It emphasizes karmic determinism: the being is propelled by the force of its own deeds toward the destined experience of results, a key idea behind the Garuda Purana’s afterlife narrative.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Do not assume distance, anonymity, or ignorance cancels consequences—live ethically and intentionally, knowing actions reliably return as lived outcomes.