The Three-Fold Karma Division
The tradition distinguishes accumulated karma into three types:
- Sañcita — the vast store of karma accumulated over countless lives, not yet bearing fruit
- Prārabdha — the portion of sañcita karma that has 'begun' (pra-rabdha) bearing fruit in the current life
- Āgāmin — future karma being created by present actions
At initiation (prapatti or pañca-saṃskāra), the Ācārya's grace is held to destroy sañcita and āgāmin karma. But prārabdha karma — having already begun to manifest as the present body and life-circumstances — must be lived through.
The Prapanna's Prārabdha
This is why the prapanna's liberation comes at death rather than immediately: prārabdha karma sustains the present body until its natural exhaustion. The prapanna does not seek to end prārabdha artificially (which would be suicide, prohibited by śāstra) but lives out the remaining span with equanimity, using it for kaiṅkarya and prabandha-anusandhānam.
Grace and Karma
Some Teṅkalai texts (especially Piḷḷai Lokācārya) go further: Bhagavān's grace can even mitigate the experience of prārabdha karma for the surrendered soul, softening suffering while the karma works itself out.