Shloka 15

Nāma-mahātmya: Liberation through Salutation, Chanting, and the Mantra “Namo Nārāyaṇāya”

Devanagari script

क्षयो भवेद्यथा वह्नेस्तमसो भास्करोदये / तथैव कलुषौघस्य नामसंकीर्तनाद्धरेः

Transliteration

kṣayo bhavedyathā vahnestamaso bhāskarodaye / tathaiva kaluṣaughasya nāmasaṃkīrtanāddhareḥ

Translation

كما تُبدَّد الظلمةُ عند طلوع الشمس، وكما تلتهم النارُ ما تلمسه، كذلك تُمحى كتلةُ الدنس والذنوب العظيمة بساṅكِيرتَنَ—الإنشاد الجماعي لاسمِ هَري.

Word by Word

• kṣayaḥ: destruction
• kṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• bhavet: would occur/comes to be
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparison/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय (comparative)

• vahneḥ: of fire
• vahneḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• tamasaḥ: of darkness
• tamasaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• bhāskara-udaye: at sunrise
• bhāskara-udaye: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक) + udaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘भास्करस्य उदयः’

• tathā: so
• tathā: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, ‘so/thus’

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारणार्थक ‘indeed/just’

• kaluṣa-oghasya: of the flood of sin/impurity
• kaluṣa-oghasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaluṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ogha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-भावः: ‘कलुषः ओघः’ (stream/heap of impurity)

• nāma-saṃkīrtanāt: from the chanting of the name
• nāma-saṃkīrtanāt: Apadana (Ablative cause/source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkīrtana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘नाम्नः संकीर्तनम्’

• hareḥ: of Hari
• hareḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (Hari) speaking to Garuda (Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana annihilates kaluṣa (impurity) as surely as light removes darkness and fire consumes fuel.

Vedantic Theme: Removal of avidyā-like darkness through divine remembrance; bhakti as a purifier of antaḥkaraṇa enabling higher realization.

Application: Engage in congregational chanting; use kīrtana as a regular practice to counter habitual negativity and moral lapses.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana nāma-mahātmya sequence around 1.228.13–17 emphasizing sin-destruction and death-transcendence

Characters & Entities

• Hari
• Vishnu
• Bhaskara (Sun)

FAQs

What is the importance of Hari-nama saṅkīrtana in the Garuda Purana?

This verse states that chanting Hari’s Name has a direct purifying power that destroys accumulated impurities and sins, comparable to sunrise dispelling darkness.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul in relation to sin and purification?

By emphasizing removal of “kaluṣa” (defilement), it implies that devotion through Hari-nama reduces the burdens that obstruct the soul’s auspicious course after death and supports spiritual clarity.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Make regular Hari-nama chanting (japa or kirtan) a daily discipline, especially during distress or moral lapse, as a concrete practice of purification and reorientation toward dharma.