Shloka 12

Tila–Darbha–Maṇḍala in Aūrdhvadaihika: Protection, Eligibility, and the Merit of Salt-Dāna

Devanagari script

आतुरो मुच्यते नैव मण्डलेन विना भुवि / ब्रह्मा रुद्रश्च विष्णुश्च श्रीर्हुताशन एव च / मण्डले चोपतिष्ठन्तस्तस्मात्कुर्वीत मण्डलम्

Transliteration

āturo mucyate naiva maṇḍalena vinā bhuvi / brahmā rudraśca viṣṇuśca śrīrhutāśana eva ca / maṇḍale copatiṣṭhantastasmātkurvīta maṇḍalam

Translation

Auf Erden wird der Kranke ohne ein rituelles Maṇḍala nicht von seinem Leiden befreit. Brahmā, Rudra und Viṣṇu—zusammen mit Śrī (Lakṣmī) und Hutāśana (Agni)—nehmen im Maṇḍala ihren Sitz; darum soll man ein Maṇḍala bereiten.

Word by Word

• āturaḥ: the afflicted/sick person
• āturaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेष्य-रूपेण (as subject)

• mucyate: is released/freed
• mucyate: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negative particle)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• maṇḍalena: by/with a maṇḍala (ritual diagram/circle)
• maṇḍalena: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• vinā: without
• vinā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Exclusion)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्गार्थक-अव्यय/पूर्वपद (preposition-like indeclinable) ‘without’; तृतीया/पञ्चमी-संबन्धे प्रयोगः

• bhuvi: on earth
• bhuvi: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• rudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• śrīḥ: Śrī (Lakṣmī)
• śrīḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hutāśanaḥ: Hutāśana (Agni, fire)
• hutāśanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hutāśana (प्रातिपदिक: huta+āśana)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (huta=‘offered’ + āśana=‘eater’)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

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

• maṇḍale: in/on the maṇḍala
• maṇḍale: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

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

• upatiṣṭhantaḥ: standing near/attending (present)
• upatiṣṭhantaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa+sthā (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; उपसर्गः upa-

• tasmāt: therefore/from that
• tasmāt: Hetu (हेतु/Reason)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात् = तद्-प्रातिपदिकस्य पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative) एकवचन; हेतु-अर्थे (therefore) अव्ययीभूत-प्रयोग

• kurvīta: should make/do
• kurvīta: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• maṇḍalam: a maṇḍala
• maṇḍalam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Ritual maṇḍala as an indispensable support for removing affliction; deities are invoked to abide in a consecrated diagram.

Vedantic Theme: Īśvara-anugraha mediated through upāsanā/karma; sacred form (ākāra) as a locus for divine presence.

Application: In illness or affliction, establish a consecrated maṇḍala with proper purity, invocation, and offerings rather than relying on unstructured rites.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: ritual space (maṇḍala-vedi/ground diagram)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana (Pretakalpa) passages on śānti-karmas, bali, homa, and protective rites around the sickbed; Garuda Purana sections praising Agni and Viṣṇu as protectors in rites

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Rudra (Shiva)
• Vishnu
• Shri (Lakshmi)
• Agni (Hutashana)
• Garuda (implied listener)

FAQs

What is the importance of a maṇḍala in the Garuda Purana for an ailing person?

This verse states that freedom from affliction is not attained without a maṇḍala, because key divine powers are invoked as present within it; hence preparing a maṇḍala is prescribed as a remedial rite.

How does this verse connect ritual practice with liberation from suffering?

It teaches a ritual logic: the maṇḍala is a consecrated space where deities ‘take their station’; by establishing that presence, the afflicted person gains release from distress through divine protection and auspicious alignment.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Create a clean, sacred space for prayer (a simple maṇḍala or altar), invoke divinity with sincerity, and pair ritual with ethical living and care—using the rite as focused devotion and mental steadiness during illness.