Shloka 89

Dāna as Prāyaścitta; Deathbed Gifts; Antyeṣṭi Procedures; Nārāyaṇa-bali for Untimely Deaths

Devanagari script

ऊनद्विवर्षं निखनेन्न कुर्यादुदकं ततः / योषित्पतिव्रता या स्याद्भर्तारं यानुगच्छति

Transliteration

ūnadvivarṣaṃ nikhanenna kuryādudakaṃ tataḥ / yoṣitpativratā yā syādbhartāraṃ yānugacchati

Translation

Einen Körper, der noch keine zwei Jahre alt ist, soll man nicht begraben, und auch die Wasseropfer (udaka) soll man dafür nicht vollziehen. Eine Frau, die wahrhaft pativratā ist, ihrem Gatten geweiht, folgt ihrem Mann im Geschick.

Word by Word

• ऊन-द्वि-वर्षम्: less than two years (old)
• ऊन-द्वि-वर्षम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūna (प्रातिपदिक) + dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying an implied object like ‘śarīram/pretam’); तत्पुरुषः ‘dvivarṣāt ūnam’ = less than two years (old)

• निखनेत्: should bury
• निखनेत्: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√khan (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्ग: नि-

• न: not
• न: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• कुर्यात्: should do/make
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• उदकम्: water (libation)
• उदकम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय/तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb) ‘thereafter/from that’

• योषित्-पतिव्रता: a devoted wife
• योषित्-पतिव्रता: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoṣit (प्रातिपदिक) + pativratā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘yoṣit eva pativratā’ = a woman devoted to her husband

• या: who
• या: Karta (Subject, relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक/यद्-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun)

• स्यात्: may be/is (should be)
• स्यात्: Kriya (Copular)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• भर्तारम्: husband
• भर्तारम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• या: who
• या: Karta (Subject, relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun), ‘she who’

• अनुगच्छति: follows
• अनुगच्छति: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√gam (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present Indicative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्ग: अनु-

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda)

Shraddha Ritual

Beneficiary: deceased child (under two years)

Timing: immediately after death (eligibility restriction for under two years)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Age-based restriction on burial/udaka rites; idealized pativratā-dharma and anugamana concept.

Vedantic Theme: Karma and saṃskāra eligibility: ritual acts correspond to social-ritual status; dharma as ordering principle amid impermanence.

Application: Follow prescribed distinctions in funerary rites for infants; understand that traditional texts may encode social ideals (pativratā) that require careful contextual interpretation today.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: funerary/household ritual context

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.4 surrounding verses on antyeṣṭi and post-death rites

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Garuda

FAQs

What is the importance of udaka (water-offering) in the Garuda Purana funeral context?

In the Preta Kanda, udaka signifies a formal rite of offering and transition for the departed; this verse notes an exception where such water-offerings are not prescribed for those under two years.

How does this verse relate to the soul’s post-death journey described in the Garuda Purana?

It frames eligibility and exceptions for post-death rites that support the departed’s transition; it also states a dharmic ideal that a pativratā’s course is bound to her husband’s destiny.

What is a practical takeaway from this verse for modern practice?

Follow tradition-specific guidance (and qualified priestly counsel) on age-based funeral rite variations, and understand that Garuda Purana places strong emphasis on dharma and relational duties in shaping one’s life-path.