Karma as Bondage Mechanism
Karma (Sanskrit: कर्म) — from kṛ (to do, to act) — refers both to actions performed and to the residual impressions (saṃskāras) and fruits (phala) they generate. The accumulated karma of countless past lives is what keeps the soul (jīvātmā) bound in saṃsāra — the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth — inhabiting body after body according to its accumulated deeds.
Three Types of Karma
Acāryas identify three categories:
- Sañcita karma — the vast accumulated stock of karma from all past lives, lying dormant
- Prārabdha karma — the portion currently operative, giving rise to the present life's body, circumstances, and experiences
- Āgāmi karma — karma being newly accumulated through present actions
Karma and Prapatti
A crucial Śrī Vaiṣṇava teaching: prapatti (surrender to the Lord) is the only means that can destroy all three types of karma simultaneously. Bhakti yoga can burn much karma but cannot eliminate prārabdha; prapatti, being the Lord's own will to protect, obliterates the entire karmic stock. Pillai Lokācārya's Mumukṣuppadi extensively analyzes what happens to a prapanna's karma after surrender.
Karma is Not Determinism
While karma governs the soul's circumstances, it does not override free will — the soul always retains the capacity to turn toward or away from the Lord. And crucially, the Lord's grace (prasāda) transcends karmic logic entirely: He saves those He wills, not merely those with 'good' karma.