Shloka 95
Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas
संहारश्चैव कालो ऽसौ पुण्यपापेन संयुतः / पञ्चेन्द्रियसमायुक्तः सकलैर्विबुधैः सह
saṃhāraścaiva kālo 'sau puṇyapāpena saṃyutaḥ / pañcendriyasamāyuktaḥ sakalairvibudhaiḥ saha
وہی کال (زمانہ) ہی سنہارک ہے؛ وہ پُنّیہ اور پاپ سے وابستہ ہے۔ پانچوں حواس کے ساتھ، تمام ویبدھ قوتوں کے ہمراہ وہ جاری رہتا ہے۔
Lord Vishnu (teaching Garuda/Vinata-putra in Preta Kanda discourse)
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.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: metaphysical/cosmic governance
Related Themes: Garuda Purana discussions of kāla, karma-phala, and the inevitability of death/time in Preta-related instruction
FAQs
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.
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.
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.