The Karmic Storehouse
Sañcita karma (Sanskrit: sañcita = accumulated, gathered) is the vast accumulated karmic debt — both puṇya (merit) and pāpa (demerit) — from all of the soul's past lives across beginningless time (anādi kāla). The jīva has been cycling through saṃsāra for an incalculable period, and every action has left its karmic trace.
The analogy: saṃcita karma is the vast granary of seed; some seeds have already been planted and are growing (prārabdha); new seeds are being added constantly (āgāmī). The granary is the saṃcita.
The Three Divisions
Classical karma theory divides karma into three:
- Saṃcita karma — accumulated total; the reservoir
- Prārabdha karma — the activated portion; the current life's determining karma
- Āgāmī / Kriyamāṇa karma — the karma being created right now through current actions
Saṃcita and Prapatti
The most important teaching: prapatti destroys all saṃcita karma.
This is the force of the charama-śloka's promise: sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi — "I shall liberate you from all sins." The Lord takes upon himself the entire accumulated debt of the prapanna — the beginningless karmic burden is cleared at the moment of surrender. This is why prapatti is called sadyaḥ-kāriṇī (immediately effective) — it works at once on the accumulated karma.
Only prārabdha karma (already in motion for this life) continues; saṃcita karma is annihilated.