karmas

Karmas, the plural of karma, refer to the moral quality of actions and their effects in many Indian religious and philosophical traditions. The basic idea is that intentional deeds generate results that influence future experiences, whether in this life or in rebirths. The connection between action and outcome is typically understood as not strictly deterministic; intention, context, and effort shape how and when consequences unfold.

In Hinduism, karmas are often described as comprising three broad categories: sanchita karma (the accumulated store of past actions), prarabdha karma (the portion of that store currently guiding the present life), and agami or kriyamana karma (present and future actions that will bear fruit). The fruits of karma may manifest as circumstances, feelings, health, wealth, or relationships, and they may ripen over time across lifetimes as vipaka, or consequences of actions.

Karmas are further distinguished by moral quality: wholesome (kusala) and unwholesome (akusala). Positive actions generally generate beneficial outcomes (punya), while negative actions lead to suffering (papa). In Buddhism, karma is defined as intentional action that seeds future experiences, with practices aimed at purifying conduct to reduce unwholesome karma; vipaka refers to the actualized fruits. Jainism emphasizes nonviolence and ascetic discipline to shed karmic particles that bind the soul.

The broader significance of karmas lies in linking ethical behavior to long-term consequences and the cycle of samsara. Across traditions, liberation or enlightenment is often described as a transformation of intention and action that exhausts or transcends karmic accumulation.