Shloka 39

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

Devanagari script

प्राप्तप्राब्धलेशस्त तस्य नास्ति खगेश्वर / दुः खाज्ञानादिकं किञ्चित्कथं तस्मिन् भविष्यति

Transliteration

prāptaprābdhaleśasta tasya nāsti khageśvara / duḥ khājñānādikaṃ kiñcitkathaṃ tasmin bhaviṣyati

Translation

O Herr der Vögel (Garuda), für den, dessen verbleibender Anteil an prārabdha erschöpft ist, bleibt nichts Bindendes zurück; wie könnte in ihm auch nur eine Spur von Leid, Unwissenheit und dergleichen entstehen?

Word by Word

• प्राप्त-प्रारब्ध-लेशः: a (mere) trace of (past) karma that has come to fruition
• प्राप्त-प्रारब्ध-लेशः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राप्त (कृदन्त) + प्रारब्ध (कृदन्त) + लेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—(प्रारब्धस्य लेशः) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष, तद्विशेषणं ‘प्राप्त’ (भूतकृदन्त)

• अस्ति: exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Nishedha (निषेध/Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• खग-ईश्वर: O lord of birds (Garuda)
• खग-ईश्वर: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Vocative address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खग (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; समासः—खगानाम् ईश्वरः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• दुःख-अज्ञान-आदिकम्: suffering, ignorance, and the like
• दुःख-अज्ञान-आदिकम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + अज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—दुःखं च अज्ञानं च (इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व), ‘आदि’ समाहारार्थे

• किञ्चित्: any (at all)
• किञ्चित्: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक (indefinite)

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Prashna (प्रश्न/Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• तस्मिन्: in him
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• भविष्यति: will be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/भविष्यत्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When the residual prārabdha is exhausted, no binding remainder persists; suffering and ignorance cannot newly arise in the liberated/realized one.

Vedantic Theme: Jīvanmukti logic: prārabdha persists only until exhaustion; āgāmi/sañcita are burnt by knowledge; no re-arising of avidyā.

Application: Interpret lingering life-events as prārabdha-fruition without self-identification; cultivate steady knowledge/devotion so that new bondage (āgāmi) is not generated.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana mokṣa-oriented discussions contrasting bondage (avidyā) and release (jñāna/bhakti)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda (Khageshvara)

FAQs

What is the importance of prārabdha in Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights that prārabdha (already-begun karma) is what sustains embodied experience; when its last remnant is exhausted, suffering and ignorance have no basis to manifest.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

It implies that bondage continues as long as karmic momentum remains; once the residual prārabdha is finished, the soul is no longer compelled into experiences marked by duḥkha and ajñāna.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with ethical discipline and spiritual practice aimed at reducing karmic entanglement—cultivating clarity (jñāna) and detachment so suffering does not take root.