Shloka 61
Explanation of the Sapiṇḍana Rite; Causes of Pretahood; Viṣṇu Worship and Preta-ghaṭa Dāna
श्रीभागवानुवाच / एवं संजल्षतस्तस्य प्रेतेन नियतात्मनः / सेनाजगामानुपदं हस्त्यश्वरथसंकुला
śrībhāgavānuvāca / evaṃ saṃjalṣatastasya pretena niyatātmanaḥ / senājagāmānupadaṃ hastyaśvarathasaṃkulā
Der erhabene Herr sprach: Während jener, dessen Geist gezügelt war, so mit dem Preta sprach, kam dicht von hinten ein Heer heran, gedrängt von Elefanten, Pferden und Streitwagen.
Lord Vishnu (Śrī Bhagavān), narrating to Garuda (Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: road/pathway
Related Themes: Narrative continuation in Garuda Purana 2.27 (context: dialogue with a preta; ensuing events with an approaching army)
FAQs
It signals the arrival of an enforcing retinue—often understood as the forces connected with Yama’s administration—indicating that the preta’s journey is not solitary but governed and escorted under cosmic law.
By depicting a preta in dialogue and then an approaching armed retinue, the verse frames the post-death passage as an ordered process where the departed is accompanied, directed, and brought under the next stage of judgment or transit.
Live with self-discipline (niyata-ātmā) and perform appropriate death rites for ancestors; the text emphasizes that actions and dharma shape the post-death experience and its governance.