Shloka 9

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

Devanagari script

प्रायश्चित्तेष्वचीर्णेषु यमलोका ह्यनेकधा / यातनाभिर्विमुक्ता ये यान्ति ते जीवसन्ततीम्

Transliteration

prāyaścitteṣvacīrṇeṣu yamalokā hyanekadhā / yātanābhirvimuktā ye yānti te jīvasantatīm

Translation

เมื่อมิได้ประกอบพิธีชดใช้บาป (ปรายัศจิตตะ) ยมโลกย่อมมีหลากหลายประการ. ผู้ที่พ้นจากโทษหลังเสวยทุกข์ทรมานแล้ว ย่อมกลับเข้าสู่สายธารแห่งชีวิตอีกครั้ง คือสืบต่อการเกิดใหม่

Word by Word

• prāyaścitteṣu: in expiations
• prāyaścitteṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/location/condition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāyaścitta (प्रायश्चित्त प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter), saptamī-vibhakti (locative), bahuvacana (plural)

• acīrṇeṣu: not performed
• acīrṇeṣu: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (अ- नञ्) + cīrṇa (चीर्ण; √car चर् + क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta past passive participle (क्त) with negation; napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter), saptamī-vibhakti (locative), bahuvacana (plural); agrees with prāyaścitteṣu

• yama-lokāḥ: the worlds of Yama
• yama-lokāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (यम) + loka (लोक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘worlds of Yama’), puṃliṅga (masculine), prathamā-vibhakti (nominative), bahuvacana (plural)

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, particle (निपात) indicating emphasis/reason

• aneka-dhā: in many ways
• aneka-dhā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aneka (अनेक) + dhā (धा प्रत्यय; अव्यय)
• Form: Avyayībhāva/avyaya formation meaning manner; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• yātanābhiḥ: by torments/punishments
• yātanābhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātanā (यातना प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), tṛtīyā-vibhakti (instrumental), bahuvacana (plural)

• vimuktāḥ: released/freed
• vimuktāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject; with ye)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi- (वि उपसर्ग) + muc (मुच् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta past passive participle (क्त), puṃliṅga (masculine), prathamā-vibhakti (nominative), bahuvacana (plural)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (relative pronoun), puṃliṅga (masculine), prathamā-vibhakti (nominative), bahuvacana (plural)

• yānti: go
• yānti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (present), prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), bahuvacana (plural), parasmaipada

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (correlative pronoun), puṃliṅga (masculine), prathamā-vibhakti (nominative), bahuvacana (plural)

• jīva-santatīm: the succession/continuity of living beings (rebirth stream)
• jīva-santatīm: Karma (कर्म/destination)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīva (जीव) + santati (सन्तति)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘continuity/line of life’), strīliṅga (feminine), dvitīyā-vibhakti (accusative), ekavacana (singular)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda/Vainateya)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Naraka

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Failure to perform prāyaścitta leads to varied Yama-realms and sufferings; after punishment, beings re-enter saṃsāra (jīva-santati).

Vedantic Theme: Saṃsāra driven by karma; prāyaścitta as karmic mitigation within dharma; bondage persists without deeper purification.

Application: Undertake timely expiation and ethical correction; treat wrongdoing as requiring repair, not denial, to reduce future suffering.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Geographic Context

Type: multiple realms/courts and punitive regions

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: classifications of narakas and punishments; subsequent verses (2.46.10–12) on bodily marks after return.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yama-loka

FAQs

What is the importance of prāyaścitta (expiation) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse states that neglecting prāyaścitta leads to varied experiences in Yama-loka; expiation is presented as a dharmic means to lessen or avoid punitive suffering tied to karmic faults.

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

It indicates that a being who has not done expiation may undergo punishments in Yama’s realms; once released from those torments, the jīva continues onward into further embodied existence—implying return to the cycle of births.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with accountability: acknowledge wrongdoing, correct it through ethical repair and appropriate religious atonement (as per one’s tradition), and cultivate disciplined conduct to reduce harmful karmic outcomes.