Shloka 26

Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas

Devanagari script

तावद्यावदशेषं च तत्पापं संक्षयं गतम् / अप्रातष्ठं च नरकं शृणुष्व गदतो मम

Transliteration

tāvadyāvadaśeṣaṃ ca tatpāpaṃ saṃkṣayaṃ gatam / aprātaṣṭhaṃ ca narakaṃ śṛṇuṣva gadato mama

Translation

ตราบใดที่บาปนั้นยังไม่สิ้นสูญโดยสิ้นเชิง ภาวะแห่งนรกย่อมดำรงอยู่โดยไร้ที่พักพิงและไร้ความผ่อนคลาย; จงฟังคำที่เรากล่าว

Word by Word

• तावत्: so long
• तावत्: Kala-adhikarana (Time extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधिवाचक (so long)

• यावत्: as long as
• यावत्: Kala-adhikarana (Time extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत् सहसम्बन्ध (as long as)

• अशेषम्: entirely
• अशेषम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (completely)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (पापम्)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• संक्षयम्: to destruction/cessation
• संक्षयम्: Gati/Karman (Goal as object/गति-कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संक्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; गतिअर्थक-क्रियायाः गन्तव्य (goal)

• गतम्: has gone/has reached
• गतम्: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘पापम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण/विधेय

• अप्रातष्ठम्: (called) Aprātaṣṭha
• अप्रातष्ठम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-प्रातष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (नरकम्)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• नरकम्: hell
• नरकम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• शृणुष्व: listen
• शृणुष्व: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• गदतः: of (me) speaking
• गदतः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गद् (धातु) + शतृ (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; ‘मम’ इत्यनेन सह—‘of me who is speaking’

• मम: my/of me
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Naraka

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Naraka persists 'so long as' sin remains; cessation comes with kṣaya (exhaustion) of papa—suffering is temporally bounded by karmic residue.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-kṣaya as a condition for transition; saṃsāric states persist until causal impressions are exhausted.

Application: Aim for papa-kṣaya through ethical living, confession/expiation, and sustained spiritual practice rather than postponing reform.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: doctrinal statement about naraka duration

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: repeated formulae 'yāvat pāpaṃ na kṣīyate' across naraka descriptions; Garuda Purana: transitions from one naraka to another based on remaining karma

Characters & Entities

• Naraka

FAQs

What is the importance of sin-exhaustion (pāpa-kṣaya) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse states that the stay in Naraka continues only as long as the accumulated sin remains; when the sin is fully exhausted, that specific punitive experience ends.

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

It frames the after-death suffering as a karmic process: the departed undergoes painful states until the particular pāpa responsible is depleted, after which the journey proceeds onward.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat actions as having consequences that must be faced; reduce harmful conduct and cultivate dharma so that future suffering born of pāpa is minimized.