Shloka 47

Akālamṛtyu: Preta-state Categories and the Nārāyaṇa-bali / Ekoddiṣṭa Remedy

Devanagari script

विंशत्युरः स्थले दद्याद्विंशतिं जठरे ऽपि च / बाहुयुग्मे शतं दद्यात्कटि देशे च विंशतिम्

Transliteration

viṃśatyuraḥ sthale dadyādviṃśatiṃ jaṭhare 'pi ca / bāhuyugme śataṃ dadyātkaṭi deśe ca viṃśatim

Translation

Man gebe zwanzig (Anteile) in der Gegend der Brust und zwanzig auch am Bauch; für das Paar der Arme gebe man hundert, und in der Gegend der Hüfte ebenfalls zwanzig.

Word by Word

• viṃśatim: Twenty
• viṃśatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṃśati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral, Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (Sandhi context implies viṃśati/viṃśatim)

• uraḥsthale: On the chest area
• uraḥsthale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uraḥsthala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• dadyāt: Should give/place
• dadyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: Vidhilin Lakara (Potential), Prathama Purusha (3rd), Singular

• viṃśatim: Twenty
• viṃśatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṃśati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral, Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• jaṭhare: On the stomach
• jaṭhare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaṭhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• api: Also
• api: Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle

• ca: And
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• bāhuyugme: On the pair of arms
• bāhuyugme: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāhuyugma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• śatam: Hundred
• śatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral, Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• kaṭideśe: On the hip/waist region
• kaṭideśe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṭideśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vainateya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Ritual exactitude (yathāvidhi) in mapping bodily parts through prescribed offerings/units.

Vedantic Theme: Śarīra as perishable upādhi; disciplined rite supports orderly transition and remembrance.

Application: Follow the prescribed counts/placements carefully in the relevant funerary rite; treat the body as a sacred template, not as ‘self’.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.40.48-51 (continuation of bodily enumeration and symbolic placements); Garuda Purana Pretakalpa sections on śrāddha/antyeṣṭi procedures (contextual)

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Garuda

FAQs

What is the importance of body-region (śarīra-sthāna) dāna in the Garuda Purana?

This verse treats dāna as a precise, rule-based support to the departed: specific amounts are assigned to specific body regions, reflecting a ritual mapping between charitable giving and the welfare/settling of the preta in post-death rites.

How does this verse relate to the soul’s journey after death described in the Preta Kanda?

In the Preta Kanda, instructions like these function as practical dharmic measures performed by the living for the deceased; the regulated dāna is presented as aiding the preta’s condition and orderly progression through the post-death process.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Even when exact traditional units or items vary by local custom, the takeaway is disciplined, intentional charity during funeral/śrāddha contexts—giving with clarity, proportion, and sincerity as an act of dharma for the departed and the family.