Shloka 48

The Preta’s Staged Journey to Yama’s City: Monthly Śrāddha Supports, Vaitaraṇī Crossing, and the Witnesses of Deeds

Devanagari script

चतुरशीतिलक्षैश्च मूर्तामूर्तैरधिष्ठितम् / त्रयोदश प्रतीहारा धर्मराजपुरे स्थिताः

Transliteration

caturaśītilakṣaiśca mūrtāmūrtairadhiṣṭhitam / trayodaśa pratīhārā dharmarājapure sthitāḥ

Translation

Die Stadt des Dharmarāja wird von vierundachtzig Lakhs von Wesen beherrscht—einige verkörpert, andere unkörperlich; und dreizehn Torwächter sind dort aufgestellt.

Word by Word

• चतुरशीतिलक्षैः: by eighty-four lakhs
• चतुरशीतिलक्षैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुरशीति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (लक्ष-शब्दः), तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः (चतुरशीतिः लक्षाणि)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• मूर्तामूर्तैः: by embodied and unembodied (beings)
• मूर्तामूर्तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्त (प्रातिपदिक) + अमूर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (मूर्तैः च अमूर्तैः च)

• अधिष्ठितम्: inhabited; presided over
• अधिष्ठितम्: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रियाविशेष)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अधि+स्था (धातु) → अधिष्ठित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘occupied/ruled’

• त्रयोदश: thirteen
• त्रयोदश: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रयोदश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, प्रथमा बहुवचनार्थे (qualifying plural noun)

• प्रतीहाराः: doorkeepers; attendants
• प्रतीहाराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतीहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• धर्मराजपुरे: in the city of Dharmarāja
• धर्मराजपुरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मराज (प्रातिपदिक) + पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (धर्मराजस्य पुरे)

• स्थिताः: stationed; standing
• स्थिताः: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रियाविशेष)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘standing/being stationed’

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Dharma is administered through an ordered hierarchy; subtle and gross beings participate in cosmic governance.

Vedantic Theme: Interpenetration of sūkṣma and sthūla domains; the universe as a moral-ontological order where actions are not private.

Application: Adopt ethical self-regulation: assume that intentions and actions (subtle/gross) are accountable; cultivate purity in both conduct and thought.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: city/fortified seat

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: Chitragupta’s records and Yama’s court apparatus (2.16.49–50)

Characters & Entities

• Dharmaraja (Yama)
• Pratiharas (gate-wardens)
• Mūrta beings
• Amūrta beings

FAQs

What is the importance of Dharmarāja’s city in the Garuda Purana?

This verse frames Dharmarājapura as an organized realm of judgment, staffed by vast classes of beings and guarded by designated gate-wardens, emphasizing moral accountability after death.

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

By describing Yama’s city as overseen by embodied and unembodied beings and guarded by gatekeepers, it implies the soul’s passage into a regulated domain where karmic records and outcomes are administered.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with dharma—truthfulness, non-harm, and duty—because the text portrays the afterlife as structured and consequential, not random; ethical choices shape one’s post-death experience.