Shloka 95

Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas

Devanagari script

संहारश्चैव कालो ऽसौ पुण्यपापेन संयुतः / पञ्चेन्द्रियसमायुक्तः सकलैर्विबुधैः सह

Transliteration

saṃhāraścaiva kālo 'sau puṇyapāpena saṃyutaḥ / pañcendriyasamāyuktaḥ sakalairvibudhaiḥ saha

Translation

กาลนั้นแลเป็นผู้ทำลายล้าง เป็นผู้เกี่ยวเนื่องด้วยบุญและบาป ดำเนินไปพร้อมอินทรีย์ทั้งห้า และพร้อมด้วยเหล่าวิบูธะผู้รู้ทั้งปวง

Word by Word

• संहारः: destruction
• संहारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात

• कालः: Time
• कालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• असौ: that (he/this one)
• असौ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Pronoun, Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• पुण्यपापेन: with merit and sin
• पुण्यपापेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य-पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: द्वन्द्व (पुण्यं च पापं च); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Instrumental (3rd), Singular

• संयुतः: joined/associated
• संयुतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-युज् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (भूतकृत्), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Past participle used adjectivally (agreeing with कालः)

• पञ्चेन्द्रियसमायुक्तः: endowed with the five senses
• पञ्चेन्द्रियसमायुक्तः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च-इन्द्रिय-सम्-आ-युक्त (प्रातिपदिक; युज् धातु + क्त)
• Form: समासः: तत्पुरुष (पञ्चेन्द्रियैः समायुक्तः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Adjective agreeing with कालः

• सकलैः: with all
• सकलैः: Karana (Instrument/Association/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सकल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural (agreeing with विबुधैः)

• विबुधैः: with the wise/divine beings
• विबुधैः: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विबुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: सहार्थक-अव्यय (postposition: 'with')

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (teaching Garuda/Vinata-putra in Preta Kanda discourse)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Time dissolves all; it is intertwined with puṇya and pāpa, implying that temporal unfolding is the arena where karmic results mature under cosmic intelligence.

Vedantic Theme: Saṃsāra under kāla and karma; impermanence (anityatā) as spur to vairāgya; īśvara’s order as the unseen governor of fruition.

Application: Live with urgency and ethics: prioritize dharma, reduce procrastination, and cultivate detachment by remembering time’s dissolving power.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: metaphysical/cosmic governance

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana discussions of kāla, karma-phala, and the inevitability of death/time in Preta-related instruction

Characters & Entities

• Kala
• Puṇya
• Pāpa
• Indriyas
• Vibudhas (Devas)

FAQs

What is the importance of Kāla (Time/Death) in Garuda Purana?

This verse presents Kāla as the power of dissolution that operates in alignment with one’s puṇya and pāpa, making death and its consequences part of a moral-causal order rather than random fate.

How does this verse relate to the soul’s journey after death?

By linking Kāla with puṇya–pāpa and the five senses, the verse points to the post-death continuity of experience through a subtle apparatus, where karmic results shape what the being encounters.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with awareness that actions have consequences: cultivate puṇya (ethical conduct, charity, truthfulness) and restrain pāpa (harmful acts), since the same moral law is said to govern life, death, and what follows.