Śivasaṃhitā 1.24

The verse closes the exposition of karmakāṇḍa with its ultimate consequence: cosmic retribution ordering the existence of beings who still act from interested motivation. The formulation is symmetrical and unambiguous — puṇyakarmāṇi leads to svarga; pāpakarmāṇi leads to naraka. Crucially, in Indian cosmology both destinations are temporary, not eternal.

Svarga («heaven,» from su-arga, that which shines well) denotes planes of joyful existence where accumulated merit is gradually consumed; naraka («hell,» related to nara, human being) is the plane of expiation where demerit is exhausted. The emphatic particle vai («certainly, indeed») underscores the causal inevitability of this mechanism, leaving no room for exception.

This verse functions as a hinge in the chapter’s argument. By establishing that karmakāṇḍa can only produce svarga or naraka — both impermanent states within saṃsāra — the text implicitly prepares the ground for the superiority of jñānakāṇḍa and, beyond that, of yoga itself: the path that leads to definitive liberation beyond all karmic retribution.