Shloka 29

Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas

Devanagari script

यावद्वर्षसहस्राणि न तेषां स्थितिरन्तरा / घटीयन्त्रेषु बद्वा ये बद्धा तोयवटी यथा

Transliteration

yāvadvarṣasahasrāṇi na teṣāṃ sthitirantarā / ghaṭīyantreṣu badvā ye baddhā toyavaṭī yathā

Translation

جتنے ہزاروں برس اعمال کا تقاضا ہو، اتنی مدت تک ان کے لیے درمیان میں کوئی مہلت نہیں؛ وہ گھٹی کے یَنتروں میں بندھے رہتے ہیں، جیسے پانی اٹھانے کے آلے سے بندھی چمڑے کی مشکیزہ۔

Word by Word

• यावत्: as long as; until
• यावत्: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal limiter/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/कालपर्यन्तवाचक (until/as long as)

• वर्षसहस्राणि: thousands of years
• वर्षसहस्राणि: Kala-parimana (Measure of time/कालपरिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; ‘वर्षाणां सहस्राणि’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• स्थितिः: rest; staying
• स्थितिः: Karta/Pradhana (Subject-noun/प्रधान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अन्तरा: in between; in the interval
• अन्तरा: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal adverbial/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्तरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘मध्ये/अन्तरे’ अर्थे (in between; in the interval)

• घटीयन्त्रेषु: in water-wheels/rotating devices
• घटीयन्त्रेषु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घटी (प्रातिपदिक) + यन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; ‘घट्या यन्त्रेषु’ (तत्पुरुष)

• बद्ध्वा: having bound
• बद्ध्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• बद्धाः: bound
• बद्धाः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु) → बद्ध (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त

• तोयवटी: a water-bucket/pail
• तोयवटी: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक) + वटी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘तोयस्य वटी’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• यथा: like; as
• यथा: Upamana-dyotaka (Comparator/उपमानद्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (comparative particle: as/like)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue instruction to Garuda)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Naraka

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Karmic punishment persists without interval until the specific phala is exhausted; time in naraka is proportionate to deed.

Vedantic Theme: Anādi karma and its fruition; saṃsāric time as a binding force when ignorance-driven action continues.

Application: Do not postpone reform; undertake prāyaścitta and cultivate sattva now, since consequences can be long and uninterrupted.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Geographic Context

Type: infernal mechanical apparatus (ghatīyantra/toya-vatī imagery)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: duration formulas ‘yāvadvarṣasahasrāṇi’ used across naraka accounts; Adjacent wheel-torment imagery in 2.3.28 and bodily gore in 2.3.30

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Pretas

FAQs

What is the importance of the ‘water-wheel’ imagery in the Garuda Purana?

This verse uses the water-lifting device (ghaṭī-yantra) as a concrete metaphor for repetitive, unbroken suffering—showing how karmic punishment can be continuous, mechanical, and without interval until its term is exhausted.

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

It indicates that certain souls (preta-like sufferers in Yama’s domain) undergo time-bound punishments with no ‘antarā’ (gap or respite), emphasizing that post-death experiences follow the momentum of karma until its results are fully lived through.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat actions as long-term causes: cultivate restraint, truthfulness, and compassion, and follow dharmic conduct—so that one avoids karmic patterns that the text portrays as leading to prolonged, uninterrupted suffering.