Verse 6.3 - The two kinds of Karmas (merit and demerit)

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Tattvartha sūtra 6.3:

शुभः पुण्यस्याशुभः पापस्य ॥ ६.३ ॥

śubhaḥ puṇyasyāśubhaḥ pāpasya || 6.3 ||

Auspicious activity–śubhayoga–is the cause of merit (puṇya) and inauspicious activity–aśubhayoga–is the cause of demerit (pāpa). (3)

Hindi Anvayarth:

अन्वयार्थ: [शुभः] शुभ योग [पुण्यस्य] पुण्य कर्म के आस्रव में के आस्रव में कारण है।

Anvayartha: [shubhah] shubha yoga [punyasya] punya karma ke asrava mem ke asrava mem karana hai |

Explanation in English from Ācārya Pūjyapāda’s Sarvārthasiddhi:

Karmas are said to be of two kinds, merit (puṇya) and demerit (pāpa). Is activity or yoga the cause of inflow of these two kinds of karmas indiscriminately, or is there any distinction? This question is answered in the next sūtra.

What is auspicious activity–śubhayoga–and what is inauspicious activity–aśubhayoga? Killing, stealing, copulation, etc., are inauspicious bodily-activities. Falsehood, harsh and uncivil language, etc., are inauspicious speech-activities. Thoughts of violence, envy, calumny, etc., are inauspicious thought-activities. The opposite of these are auspicious bodily-activities, speech-activities and thought-activities. How is activity classified into auspicious or inauspicious? That activity (yoga) which is the consequence of virtuous disposition (pariṇāma) is auspicious (śubha) activity. That activity (yoga) which is the consequence of wicked disposition (pariṇāma) is inauspicious (aśubha) activity. The distinction is not based on whether the activity is the cause of engendering either the auspicious (śubha) or the inauspicious (aśubha) karmas. If it were so, there would be no virtuous activity as bondage of any kind of karmas is undesirable and even virtuous activities are admitted to be the cause of bondage of karmas, like the knowledge-obscuring karmas. Therefore the purity or impurity of the disposition behind the activity, as mentioned above, is the appropriate mark (lakṣaṇa) of the auspicious or inauspicious activity. That which purifies the soul or by which the soul is purified is merit (puṇya); merit is the cause of happy-feeling (sātā-vedanīya), etc. That which sullies the soul is demerit (pāpa); demerit is the cause of unhappy-feeling (asātāvedanīya), etc.