Shloka 13

Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas

Devanagari script

तस्यां बद्धकराभ्यां च पद्भ्यां चैव यमानुगैः / मुच्यते पापकृन्मध्ये लुण्ठमानः स गच्छति

Transliteration

tasyāṃ baddhakarābhyāṃ ca padbhyāṃ caiva yamānugaiḥ / mucyate pāpakṛnmadhye luṇṭhamānaḥ sa gacchati

Translation

ที่นั่นบริวารแห่งยมราชมัดมือและเท้าของเขา แล้วโยนลงท่ามกลางเหล่าคนบาป; เขาดิ้นรนกลิ้งเกลือกด้วยทุกข์ ถูกลากไปข้างหน้าไม่หยุด.

Word by Word

• तस्याम्: in that (place/condition)
• तस्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (अधिकरणे/Locative), एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम-रूपम् (in that [place/condition])

• बद्धकराभ्याम्: with (his) bound hands
• बद्धकराभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बद्ध (कृदन्त; √बन्ध् (धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय) + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (करणे/Instrumental), द्विवचनम्; समासः—कर्मधारयः (बद्धाः कराः यस्य/बद्ध-करौ)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• पद्भ्याम्: with (his) feet
• पद्भ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (करणे/Instrumental), द्विवचनम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारण-अव्ययम् (emphatic particle)

• यमानुगैः: by Yama’s attendants
• यमानुगैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (करणे/Instrumental), बहुवचनम्; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (यमस्य अनुगाः)

• मुच्यते: is released / is let go
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (is released/loosened)

• पापकृत्: sin-doer
• पापकृत्: Sambandha (Qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + √कृ (धातु) (क्विप्-प्रत्यय; कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-समासान्तः; प्रातिपदिकम् ‘पापकृत्’ (sin-doer)

• मध्ये: in the midst
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (अधिकरणे/Locative), एकवचनम्

• लुण्ठमानः: rolling/writhing
• लुण्ठमानः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √लुण्ठ् (धातु) शतृ-प्रत्यय (वर्तमान-कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; वर्तमान-कृदन्तः (present participle)

• स: he
• स: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम (he)

• गच्छति: goes
• गच्छति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Papa leads to coercive suffering and loss of agency after death; the soul is compelled by karmic law administered by Yama’s attendants.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-phala and the binding force of adharma; embodied identity collapses, leaving the jiva to experience results shaped by past action.

Application: Cultivate restraint and ethical conduct now; reduce harmful actions and seek atonement/discipline to avoid papa-driven afterlife suffering.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Geographic Context

Type: road/liminal passage

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: Yama-marga descriptions; Yamaduta binding/dragging motifs in adjacent verses; Garuda Purana: Naraka catalog sections describing sinners being seized by Yamadutas

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamadutas (Yama’s attendants)
• Sinners (pāpakṛt)

FAQs

What is the importance of Yama’s attendants (Yamadutas) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse presents Yamadutas as enforcers of karmic law: they restrain and drive the sinner into the company of other wrongdoers, initiating the experience of post-death consequences.

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

It depicts a punitive stage of the soul’s journey in which the sinful person is physically restrained (symbolically through the subtle body’s experience) and compelled onward, suffering humiliation and pain among other sinners under Yama’s authority.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use it as a reminder to reduce harmful actions (pāpa), practice self-restraint and honesty, and adopt daily dharmic conduct—so one’s post-death trajectory is not shaped by fear, coercion, and suffering.