Shloka 46

Svapnādhāya (Dream-Chapter): Causes, Forms, Nourishment, and Liberation of Pretas

Devanagari script

प्रेतत्वं कर्मभावेन प्राप्तं नामानि च द्विज / मेषाननो लेखको ऽयं रोध (ह) कः पर्वताननः

Transliteration

pretatvaṃ karmabhāvena prāptaṃ nāmāni ca dvija / meṣānano lekhako 'yaṃ rodha (ha) kaḥ parvatānanaḥ

Translation

يا ذا الميلادين، إن حالة البريتة تُنال بحسب هيئة الكَرْمَا في المرء، وبحسب ذلك تُعطى أسماء شتى. (فمنهم) «ذو وجه الكبش»؛ وهذا «لِكهاكَة» الكاتب؛ (وآخرون) يُعرفون بـ«رودها/ها» و«ذو وجه الجبل».

Word by Word

• pretatvam: the state of being a preta
• pretatvam: Karma/Prāpyam (Result/प्राप्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta + tva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsaka, Prathamā/Dvitīyā (1st/2nd), Ekavacana; abstract noun ‘state of a preta’

• karmabhāvena: due to karmic disposition
• karmabhāvena: Hetu/Kāraṇa (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karma + bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd), Ekavacana; samāsa: karmaṇaḥ bhāvaḥ (due to the nature of deeds)

• prāptam: attained
• prāptam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prāpta (कृदन्त; √āp (धातु) + pra- + क्त)
• Form: Napuṃsaka, Prathamā/Dvitīyā (1st/2nd), Ekavacana; kta-participle predicative: ‘has been obtained/attained’ (agreeing with pretatvam)

• nāmāni: names
• nāmāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsaka, Prathamā/Dvitīyā (1st/2nd), Bahuvacana

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction

• dvija: O twice-born
• dvija: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana (Vocative), Ekavacana

• meṣānanaḥ: Meṣānana (ram-faced)
• meṣānanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: meṣa + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; samāsa: meṣasya ānanaṃ yasya (ram-faced)

• lekhakaḥ: Lekhaka
• lekhakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lekhaka (प्रातिपदिक; √likh + ण्वुल्)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• rodhakaḥ: Rodhaka
• rodhakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rodhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• parvatānanaḥ: Parvatānana (mountain-faced)
• parvatānanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; samāsa: parvatasya ānanaṃ yasya (mountain-faced)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Preta-hood and its specific forms/names arise from one’s karmic disposition (karma-bhāva).

Vedantic Theme: Saṃskāra-driven nāma-rūpa; the jīva’s experiential body (bhoga-śarīra) conforms to karma.

Application: Cultivate wholesome dispositions and actions; recognize that character (bhāva) is karmically formative, not merely external behavior.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: intermediate after-death condition

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: continuation of preta-name typology (links to 2.22.45 and 2.22.47)

Characters & Entities

• Pretas
• Karma

FAQs

What is the importance of karmic classification of the preta in Garuda Purana?

This verse states that the preta-condition and even the labels/forms assigned to the departed are determined by karmic disposition, emphasizing that post-death experience follows moral causality.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

It suggests that after death the being may be categorized into specific preta-types—some linked to functions like ‘scribe’—indicating an ordered, karma-based system governing the intermediate state.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live ethically and perform duties conscientiously, remembering that actions shape one’s subtle post-death condition; support dharmic conduct and appropriate śrāddha/rites with sincerity.