What Happens Between Death and Rebirth? The Journey of the Soul

Where do we go when we die? And more importantly who is it that goes?

We are born.

We live.

We die.

And then?

The ultimate “then” has drawn the continuous interest of saints as well as scientists and seekers during endless millennia starting from the closure of eyes and skin temperature decline. The traditional spiritual beliefs of India present a clear and accurate depiction of post-death events even though modern science cannot confirm these stages.

All Vedas Upanishads Puranas and Tantric texts unanimously declare that death is a transformation into a new state rather than complete destruction. A passageway between states of consciousness, a movement through subtle realms far more vivid and real than the physical.

In Sanātana Dharma, the soul (jivātma) is not destroyed by death, it travels. And that journey, between death and the next birth, is perhaps the most mysterious chapter in the book of existence.

The Moment of Death: The Great Exit

In the Garuda Purāṇa, one of the most detailed scriptural sources on the afterlife, death is described not as annihilation but as separation, the subtle body (sūkṣma śarīra) and the soul (jivātma) leaving the physical body (sthūla śarīra).

“When the prāṇa leaves through the heart or the top of the head, the body dies. What departs is the traveler, not the house.” — Garuda Purāṇa, Preta Khanda

In the Yogic tradition, the exit point of prāṇa determines the nature of the soul’s next destination:

• Sahasrāra (crown): Liberation or higher realms

• Ajñā (third eye): Celestial realms

• Heart: Human rebirth

• Lower chakras: Lower births or ghost realms

As the body becomes lifeless, the soul enters a state called preta avasthā, the “spirit” or intermediary form, neither fully gone nor reborn.

The Forty-Nine Days: Wandering as a Preta

For 10 to 49 days, depending on karma, the soul wanders the lower astral plane as a preta. This is a transitional body, shaped by the desires and attachments of the previous life.

The Garuda Purāṇa and Bṛhadaranyaka Upaniṣad describe this period as:

• Disorienting: The soul does not immediately know it is dead

• Emotionally intense: It may revisit places, people, memories

• Dependent: On rituals (shraddha, tarpana) and prayers for support

This is why post-death rituals in Hinduism are so vital, they are not mere tradition. They are energetic nourishment for the departing soul, guiding it to clarity and peace.

The preta form, still carrying subtle impressions of the past life, is also vulnerable. Desire, fear, and confusion cloud it. Rituals, especially those offered with love and mantras like “Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya”, help lift it upward.

The Yama Experience: Judgment or Reflection?

On the 10th or 11th day, the soul is said to be taken before Yama, the deity of dharma and death.

But this is not a courtroom drama, it’s more like a mirror of memory. The soul is shown its deeds, not with punishment, but with karmic consequence.

“You see your own mind. You walk through the world you created.” — Yoga Vāsiṣṭha

Yama’s assistants, Chitragupta and others record the soul’s karma. The experience is vivid: the soul sees the joy it gave, the pain it caused, the love it failed to express.

It is not judgment by a deity, it is confrontation with the self.

The Paths After Death: Uttarāyaṇa and Dakṣiṇāyana

According to the Bhagavad Gītā (Chapter 8) and Chāndogya Upaniṣad, there are two primary paths the soul may take:

The Path of Light (Uttarāyaṇa Mārga)

• For those who died in a state of clarity, devotion, or Self-realization

• Leads through bright realms: light, day, deva-lokas

• Ends in moksha (liberation) or long sojourn in higher planes like Svarga, Maharloka, or Satyaloka

The Path of Smoke (Dakṣiṇāyana Mārga)

• For those bound by desire, fear, ignorance

• Leads through smoke, night, and lunar realms

• Ends in rebirth in lower lokas, or even return to Bhu-loka (Earth)

Yet, no path is final. Even a soul in a lower realm can rise through divine grace, mantra, or the merit of a descendant’s prayer.

The Transit Through Lokas

Between death and rebirth, the soul may visit various realms based on its karma:

• Pitṛ-loka (Realm of Ancestors): Where souls rest, receive offerings, and await rebirth

• Svarga-loka (Heavenly Plane): For those who earned punya (merit) through dharma

• Naraka-loka (Lower Worlds): Not eternal hell, but temporary realms for karmic purification

• Gandharva-loka, Yogini-loka, and Preta-loka: Realms of beings in various intermediate states

In Tantric accounts, such as in the Rudra Yamala Tantra, it is said that advanced yogis may even choose their next birth, or refuse rebirth entirely, merging with their ishta devata.

The Return: Rebirth and Karma’s Design

Rebirth is not random.

The next birth is chosen by karma, desire, and residual impressions (samskāras). The soul is drawn magnetically to the right family, womb, and moment of conception that matches its energetic vibration.

“As the wind carries fragrance from one flower to another, So the soul carries memory from one life to the next.”— Bhagavad Gītā 15.8

In some cases, the soul waits generations before returning. In others, the return is almost immediate.

There are also stories especially in Tibetan and Kashmiri Shaiva texts of souls returning with memories intact, called jāti smaraṇa. These are not fantasy. Even modern-day past-life regression cases (like that of Shanti Devi in India) point to this ancient truth.

Where Does God Fit Into All This?

For the bhakta (devotee), death is not merely a karmic computation.

It is a homecoming.

Saints like Mirabai, Andal, and Ramakrishna speak of death not as something to fear but as the moment of reunion with the Beloved.

“When I die, my body will fall. But He — He will come and take me. And there will be no death for me then.” — Mirabai

In such states of divine longing (viraha) and union (samādhi), the soul is lifted not by its karma, but by grace.

Conclusion: The Soul’s Journey Is Real and Yours

Death is not the end. It is a mirror, a bridge, and in some cases, a liberation.

Between one breath and the next birth lies a vast ocean of experience rich with visions, reckonings, and revelations.

What happens between death and rebirth?

A lot.

• The soul reflects.

• The soul wanders.

• The soul remembers.

• The soul learns.

• And eventually… the soul returns.

Or, if it is ready, it dissolves into the timeless light from which it came.

The scriptures call this pūrṇa (completion). Not annihilation. But wholeness.

So live well.

Die consciously.

And know that wherever you go next.

You’ve been there before.