Pāpa

Sin, karmic demerit, action that generates future suffering. Pāpa does not designate an offense against a deity but a violation of ṛta — cosmic order — that weaves painful consequences into the fabric of karma. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Kṛṣṇa asserts that pāpa is destroyed through jñāna (knowledge) and bhakti (devotion), not through expiatory rituals. The Upaniṣads radicalize this position: one who knows Brahman transcends pāpa and puṇya (merit), for both belong to the realm of duality. See karma and [[puṇya]].