Shloka 11

Karma-vipāka: Truth, Yama’s Judgment, and the Marks of Sin in Rebirth

Devanagari script

सोढ्वा वै यातनाः सर्वा गत्वा वैवस्वतक्षयम् / निस्तीर्णयातनास्ते तु लोकमायान्ति चिह्निताः

Transliteration

soḍhvā vai yātanāḥ sarvā gatvā vaivasvatakṣayam / nistīrṇayātanāste tu lokamāyānti cihnitāḥ

Translation

అన్ని యాతనలను భరించి, వైవస్వతుడు (యముడు) నివాసానికి వెళ్లి, శిక్షలను దాటి వచ్చినవారు చిహ్నితులై మళ్లీ లోకానికి వస్తారు.

Word by Word

• soḍhvā: having endured
• soḍhvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sah (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund), धातु ‘सह्’ → ‘सोढ्वा’ (having endured)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• yātanāḥ: torments/punishments
• yātanāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Karma (कर्म) (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying yātanāḥ)

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund)

• vaivasvata-kṣayam: the abode of Yama (Vaivasvata)
• vaivasvata-kṣayam: Karma (कर्म) (goal as object with gatvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaivasvata (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सम्बन्ध: ‘of Vaivasvata/Yama’ + ‘abode/house’)

• nistīrṇa-yātanāḥ: those who have passed through the torments
• nistīrṇa-yātanāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nis-tṝ (धातु) + yātanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) ‘निस्तीर्ण’ + ‘यातना’; बहुव्रीहि: ‘whose torments are crossed/finished’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (in apposition)

• tu: but/then
• tu: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• lokam: to the world
• lokam: Karma (कर्म) (goal/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• āyānti: come/arrive
• āyānti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-yā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• cihnitāḥ: marked/identified
• cihnitāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cihnita (प्रातिपदिक; from cihn ‘to mark’)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying te)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even after torments are completed, karmic impressions persist as marks upon return to worldly life.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-phala may be ‘experienced’ yet saṃskāra can remain; bondage continues without deeper purification/knowledge.

Application: Do not assume suffering alone purifies; adopt conscious ethical transformation and spiritual practice to uproot tendencies.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: abode/court

Cross References

Related Themes: Continuation of the pāpa-cihna teaching culminating in 2.46.12 examples; broader naraka-to-rebirth sequences in Pretakalpa.

Characters & Entities

• Yama (Vaivasvata)

FAQs

What is the importance of Yama (Vaivasvata) in Garuda Purana?

This verse frames Yama’s realm as the karmic adjudication stage: beings undergo prescribed punishments there and, after completing them, return to worldly existence.

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

It describes a sequence: experiencing yātanās (torments) in Yama’s abode, finishing those karmic results, and then returning to the world—still ‘marked’ by the impressions/signs of what was undergone.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live ethically and reduce harmful actions: the text emphasizes that karma has consequences that must be endured, leaving lasting impressions—so restraint, charity, and dharmic conduct are practical safeguards.