Karma, free will, and prārabdha must be understood only after establishing the fundamental distinction between the Self and the not‑Self. Śaṅkara is unequivocal: the Self is akartā and abhoktā — actionless and untouched by the results of action — while karma operates solely within the realm of adhyāsa, the superimposed individuality born of ignorance. Yet, as long as this erroneous identification persists, the laws of karma, choice, and consequence apply with full force. The śāstra therefore examines karma not to reinforce doership, but to reveal its limits and ultimately dissolve it through knowledge. This page explores the structure of karma, the scope of free will, and the role of prārabdha from the standpoint of Advaita, guiding the seeker from empirical clarity to the recognition of the ever‑free Self.
Karma, Free Will & Prārabdha — A Śāstric Exploration for Advanced Seekers
The śāstra presents karma not as a doctrine of fatalism, but as a precise framework for understanding human experience, responsibility, and freedom. For the advanced seeker, the real enquiry is not “What will happen to me?” but “Who is the one to whom karma seems to happen?” This page examines karma, free will, and prārabdha from the standpoint of Advaita Vedānta, resolving the subtle doubts that arise as the seeker approaches the threshold of Self‑knowledge.
1. The Structure of Karma — A Śāstric Overview
The tradition classifies karma into three categories:
Saṁcita Karma
The accumulated results of countless past actions.
This vast storehouse is not exhausted in a single lifetime.
Prārabdha Karma
The portion of saṁcita that has begun to fructify as the present body‑mind complex.
It determines the circumstances of this life — birth, lifespan, major experiences.
Āgāmī Karma
The karma generated by present actions, which will bear fruit in the future.
Śaṅkara emphasizes that karma operates only at the level of the jīva, the individual identified with body and mind. The Self, being actionless (akartā), is untouched by karma.
2. Free Will Within the Field of Karma
A common doubt arises: If prārabdha determines my life, do I have free will?
Vedānta resolves this by distinguishing two standpoints:
Vyāvahārika (Empirical Level)
Within the field of experience, the jīva has limited free will.
You cannot choose your birth, body, or past tendencies — but you can choose your present responses.
Free will exists within prārabdha, not outside it.
Pāramārthika (Absolute Level)
From the standpoint of the Self, there is no doer, no action, no karma.
The very question of free will dissolves because the Self is not a participant in action.
Thus, free will is real enough to be meaningful, but not absolutely real.
3. What Exactly Is Prārabdha?
Prārabdha is the momentum of past karma that has already begun to bear fruit.
Śāstra describes it as:
- An arrow already released — it must travel until its momentum ends
- The blueprint of the current embodiment
- The cause of major life circumstances (not every small event)
Prārabdha determines:
- Birth, Body type, Family, Lifespan, Major experiences (health, relationships, opportunities)
But it does not determine:
- Your response, Your attitude, Your present choices, Your pursuit of knowledge, Your inner freedom
This distinction is crucial for advanced seekers.
4. The Jñānī and Karma — Śāstric Clarification
A profound question arises: If the jñānī knows “I am not the doer,” why does prārabdha continue?
Śaṅkara’s answer is subtle:
- Knowledge destroys saṁcita (accumulated karma)
- Knowledge prevents āgāmī (future karma)
- But prārabdha continues until the body falls
Why?
Because prārabdha belongs to the body‑mind, not to the Self.
The jñānī does not identify with the body, yet the body continues due to past momentum — just as a fan continues to spin after being switched off.
Thus:
- Karma continues
- But the jñānī is untouched
- The body’s experiences do not create bondage
This is the heart of jīvanmukti.
5. The Real Resolution — From Karma to Freedom
For the advanced seeker, the purpose of understanding karma is not to predict destiny but to recognize:
- Karma belongs to the body‑mind
- Doership belongs to ignorance
- Freedom belongs to the Self
When the seeker understands:
“I am akartā, abhoktā — the actionless, non‑experiencing Self,”
karma loses its binding force. Prārabdha may continue, but bondage ends.
Karma, Free Will & Prārabdha — Śaṅkara‑Style Technical Explanation
Vedānta does not begin with the denial of karma; it begins with the precise delineation of the locus of karma. Śaṅkara consistently establishes that karma belongs only to the adhyasta‑jīva — the individual superimposed upon the Self through avidyā. The Self, being akartā and abhoktā, is untouched by action and its results. All enquiry into karma, free will, and prārabdha is therefore undertaken from the vyāvahārika standpoint, for the sake of removing the confusion between the Self and the not‑Self.
1. The Locus of Karma (Karma‑adhikaraṇa)
Śaṅkara repeatedly states: “Ātmanaḥ akartṛtvāt na karma sambhavati.”
Because the Self is actionless, karma cannot belong to it. Karma operates only where:
- kartṛtva (doership)
- saṅkalpa (volition)
- icchā‑dveṣa (likes and dislikes)
- ahaṅkāra (ego‑sense) are present.
These belong to the antaḥkaraṇa‑upādhi, not to the Self. Thus, karma is mithyā, dependent on the erroneous identification of consciousness with the body‑mind complex.
2. The Threefold Karma — Śaṅkara’s Technical Framework
Saṁcita: The accumulated, beginningless store of karma. Śaṅkara calls it anādi‑avidyā‑kalpita, projected by beginningless ignorance.
Prārabdha: The portion of saṁcita that has begun to fructify as the present embodiment. Śaṅkara uses the analogy of an arrow already released — mukta‑śara‑nyāya.
Āgāmī: Karma generated by present action, which will join saṁcita unless neutralized by knowledge.
Śaṅkara’s key point: Karma is operative only so long as the notion “I am the doer” persists.
3. Free Will (Svatantrya) Within Prārabdha
Śaṅkara does not use the English term “free will,” but he clearly distinguishes:
(a) Prārabdha‑niyata‑deha
The body and its major circumstances are fixed by prārabdha.
(b) Purushakāra
The individual’s capacity for deliberate effort. Śaṅkara affirms that purushakāra is meaningful because:
- dharma and adharma depend on choice
- śāstra‑vidhi (injunctions) presuppose agency
- sādhanā requires intentionality
- the pursuit of knowledge is volitional
Thus, free will is not absolute, but functionally real within the field of prārabdha.
4. What Exactly Is Prārabdha? — Śaṅkara’s Precision
Prārabdha is defined as:
- “janma‑hetuḥ karma” — the karma responsible for embodiment
- “ārabdha‑phala‑janaka‑karma” — karma whose results have already begun
- “deha‑dharma‑nimittam” — that which sustains the body until exhaustion
Śaṅkara emphasizes:
- Prārabdha determines the structure of the present life
- It does not determine the inner orientation of the seeker
- It cannot obstruct Self‑knowledge, because knowledge belongs to a different order of reality
5. The Jñānī and Karma — Śaṅkara’s Subtle Resolution
Śaṅkara’s teaching is precise:
(1) Saṁcita is destroyed by knowledge:
Because ignorance, its cause, is destroyed.
(2) Āgāmī does not accrue
Because the jñānī has no sense of doership.
(3) Prārabdha continues
Because it pertains to the already‑begun body.
Śaṅkara’s analogy: The potter’s wheel continues to spin even after the potter stops turning it.
But the crucial point: Prārabdha continues only for the body, not for the Self.
The jñānī does not identify with the body, so prārabdha cannot bind. Thus, Śaṅkara resolves the apparent contradiction:
The jñānī is free from karma. Yet the body continues due to prārabdha. The two belong to different orders of reality
6. The Final Resolution — From Karma to Akartṛtva
Śaṅkara’s ultimate teaching is not about managing karma but about transcending the very notion of doership.
The śāstra leads the seeker to recognize:
- kartṛtva (doership) is adhyāsa
- karma is adhyāsa
- phala (result) is adhyāsa
- saṁsāra is adhyāsa
When adhyāsa is removed through knowledge, the Self is known as:
- akartā — non‑doer
- abhoktā — non‑experiencer
- asaṅgaḥ — unattached
- svayaṁ‑prakāśaḥ — self‑revealing
- nitya‑muktaḥ — ever‑free
At this point, karma becomes irrelevant, not because it has been exhausted, but because it is known to belong to a mistaken identity. This is Śaṅkara’s uncompromising Advaita.