Garuda Purana — Moksha Sadhana Prakarana, Shloka 49

Ahaṅkāra-Tripartition and the Rise of Indriyas, Devatās, and Cosmic Administrators

Devanagari script

एकादशविधा ह्येवं मनवः परिकीर्तिताः / पितॄणां सप्तकं चैवेत्याद्याः संजज्ञिरे खग

Transliteration

ekādaśavidhā hyevaṃ manavaḥ parikīrtitāḥ / pitṝṇāṃ saptakaṃ caivetyādyāḥ saṃjajñire khaga

Translation

وهكذا يُعلَن أنَّ المانو (Manu) أحدَ عشرَ نوعًا؛ وكذلك جماعةُ البِتْرِ (Pitṛ) الآباءِ الأسلاف سباعيةُ العدد. ومن أولئك الكائناتِ الأُوَل، يا أيها الطائرُ (غارودا)، نشأت السلالاتُ الأولى.

Word by Word

• ekādaśa-vidhāḥ: of eleven kinds
• ekādaśa-vidhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekādaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + vidhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); adjective qualifying manavaḥ

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), explanatory/emphatic

• evaṃ: thus
• evaṃ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evaṃ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय)

• manavaḥ: Manus
• manavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• parikīrtitāḥ: are proclaimed
• parikīrtitāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√kīrt (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (कर्मणि क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• pitṝṇām: of the Pitṛs (ancestors)
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• saptakam: a group of seven
• saptakam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saptaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक/अवधारणार्थक निपात)

• iti: thus/“so”
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-प्रयोग)

• ādyāḥ: the first (ones)
• ādyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); used substantively

• saṃjajñire: were born/arose
• saṃjajñire: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√jan (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• khaga: O bird (Garuda)
• khaga: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic governance through Manu (lawgiver) lineages and Pitṛ (ancestral) orders as foundations of social and ritual continuity.

Vedantic Theme: Īśvara-sṛṣṭi as ordered manifestation; loka-saṅgraha through lineage and duty.

Application: Honor ancestral continuity (pitṛ-tarpaṇa/śrāddha ethos) and uphold dharma as a continuation of Manu’s ordering principle.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: cosmology/creation-genealogy passages in Purvakhanda (sarga/pratisarga style enumerations); Garuda Purana: Pitṛ-kalpa/śrāddha sections that presuppose Pitṛ classifications

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Manus
• Pitris

FAQs

What is the importance of the Manus and Pitris in the Garuda Purana?

This verse frames Manus and Pitṛs as foundational cosmic authorities—Manus as progenitors and law-ordainers, and Pitṛs as ancestral beings—supporting the Purana’s emphasis on dharma and ancestral rites.

How does this verse connect to Garuda Purana death rituals like śrāddha and piṇḍa-dāna?

By highlighting the Pitṛs as a defined, revered class (a sevenfold group), the verse reinforces why offerings to ancestors (śrāddha, piṇḍa-dāna) are treated as spiritually consequential duties within the text’s ritual framework.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Maintain respect for lineage and ethical order: uphold dharma in conduct, and if you follow tradition, perform periodic ancestral remembrance (e.g., śrāddha/tarpaṇa) with sincerity and charity.