Shloka 13

Hari in the Primeval Waters: Prakṛti as Veil, the ‘Sleep’ Metaphor, and Brahmā’s Lotus-Channel Inquiry

Devanagari script

एवं सा परमा दुष्टा होका तमोङ्गा तु प्रकीर्तिता / जीववर्गेष्वेव खग ब्रह्मादेर्नास्ति सा क्वचित्

Transliteration

evaṃ sā paramā duṣṭā hokā tamoṅgā tu prakīrtitā / jīvavargeṣveva khaga brahmādernāsti sā kvacit

Translation

So ist jener Bereich—überaus verderbt und als „Welt mit dunklen Gliedern“ gerühmt—nur unter den Klassen der Lebewesen vorhanden. O Vogel (Garuda), bei Brahmā und den übrigen göttlichen Wesen findet er sich nirgends.

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (adverb): ‘thus/in this manner’

• sā: she/that (one)
• sā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (Nom. 1), Ekavacana

• paramā: supreme
• paramā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (Nom. 1), Ekavacana

• duṣṭā: wicked/corrupting
• duṣṭā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक/PPP from √duṣ)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (Nom. 1), Ekavacana

• hokā: (reading uncertain)
• hokā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hokā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (Nom. 1), Ekavacana; pāṭha uncertain

• tamaḥ-aṅgā: darkness-constituted
• tamaḥ-aṅgā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (Nom. 1), Ekavacana; bahuvrīhi

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle)

• prakīrtitā: is proclaimed
• prakīrtitā: Karma (कर्म/Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√kīrt (धातु) → prakīrtitā (कृदन्त, PPP)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (Nom. 1), Ekavacana

• jīva-vargeṣu: among classes of beings
• jīva-vargeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīva (प्रातिपदिक) + varga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Saptamī (Loc. 7), Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: jīvānāṃ vargāḥ

• eva: only/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-nipāta

• khaga: O bird (Garuda)
• khaga: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Sambodhana (Vocative), Ekavacana

• brahmādeḥ: of Brahmā and others
• brahmādeḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmā (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Ṣaṣṭhī (Gen. 6), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: brahmā-ādi (Brahmā and others) in genitive

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध/negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Pratiṣedha-nipāta (negation)

• asti: exists/is
• asti: Kriyā (क्रिया/verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana

• sā: she/that (one)
• sā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā (Nom. 1), Ekavacana

• kvacit: anywhere
• kvacit: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (adverb of place/time): ‘anywhere/ever’

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Tamas-bound ‘realm’ (state) belongs to embodied beings; higher divine beings are not subject to that specific obscuration in the same way—highlighting gradations of consciousness and bondage.

Vedantic Theme: Adhyasa/avidya operates in the jiva-sphere; hierarchy of loci of ignorance; contrast between conditioned embodiment and higher cosmic intelligences.

Application: Use the contrast to intensify dispassion: recognize tamasic tendencies as ‘not-self’ accretions of embodied life; seek uplift through sattva and devotion.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: metaphysical realm

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: gradations of beings and lokas; discussions of guna-dominance across species/classes (contextual parallel)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Brahma

FAQs

What is the importance of the ‘dark realm’ (tamoṅgā loka) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse frames it as a karmic realm of darkness and moral corruption, relevant to embodied beings who accrue tamasic tendencies and sinful results.

How does this verse explain who experiences such realms after death?

It states that such a realm pertains to jīvas (embodied living classes) and is not a destination for Brahmā and other divine beings, indicating a hierarchy of worlds based on karma and embodiment.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate sattva through ethical conduct, self-restraint, and truthful living to avoid tamasic degradation and the karmic pull toward darker states of experience.