Shloka 26
Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas
तावद्यावदशेषं च तत्पापं संक्षयं गतम् / अप्रातष्ठं च नरकं शृणुष्व गदतो मम
tāvadyāvadaśeṣaṃ ca tatpāpaṃ saṃkṣayaṃ gatam / aprātaṣṭhaṃ ca narakaṃ śṛṇuṣva gadato mama
جب تک وہ گناہ پوری طرح ختم نہیں ہو جاتا، تب تک وہ دوزخی حالت بے آرامی کے ساتھ قائم رہتی ہے؛ میری بات سنو۔
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
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.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: doctrinal statement about naraka duration
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
FAQs
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.
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.
Treat actions as having consequences that must be faced; reduce harmful conduct and cultivate dharma so that future suffering born of pāpa is minimized.