Shloka 54

Santaptaka’s Encounter with Five Pretas and Their Liberation through Viṣṇu’s Presence

Devanagari script

पञ्चवर्षसुता वृद्धा पुत्रमात्रैकजीविता / अहं क्षत्त्रियदायादस्तस्या रोधमकारिषम्

Transliteration

pañcavarṣasutā vṛddhā putramātraikajīvitā / ahaṃ kṣattriyadāyādastasyā rodhamakāriṣam

Translation

Sie war eine alte Frau mit einem fünfjährigen Sohn und lebte nur für dieses einzige Kind. Ich—ein Nachkomme der Kṣatriyas—fügte ihr Hindernis zu und ließ sie in Haft und Einschluss geraten.

Word by Word

• पञ्चवर्षसुता: having a five-year-old daughter
• पञ्चवर्षसुता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सुता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पञ्चवर्षस्य सुता)

• वृद्धा: old/aged
• वृद्धा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पुत्रमात्रैकजीविता: living only for her son (son as sole support)
• पुत्रमात्रैकजीविता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग) + एक (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + जीवित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष-प्रधानः (पुत्रमात्रेण एकेन जीविता)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• क्षत्त्रियदायादः: an heir of a Kshatriya
• क्षत्त्रियदायादः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्त्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + दायाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (क्षत्त्रियस्य दायादः)

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• रोधम्: obstruction/denial
• रोधम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रोध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• अकारिषम्: I did/made
• अकारिषम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist/अद्यतनभूत), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

A sinful soul (preta) narrating its deed within the Vishnu–Garuda dialogue framework

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Harming the helpless (a lone mother and child) accrues grave papa that ripens as suffering.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-bandhana through himsa and anukampa-abhava (absence of compassion).

Application: Protect dependents; avoid abuse of power; cultivate compassion and restitution when harm is done.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: themes of confession before consequences; cruelty to dependents leading to naraka/pretayatra (general motif)

Characters & Entities

• Preta
• Kshatriya

FAQs

What is the importance of describing harm to a helpless person in Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights that obstructing or confining the vulnerable—especially someone sustained by a single dependent—counts as a grave adharma that follows the doer into the afterlife as karmic liability.

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

In the Preta Kanda’s moral accounting, the departed soul recounts specific wrongful acts; such confessions explain why the preta faces particular sufferings and judgments in the post-death process associated with Yama’s order.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Do not exploit power or social status to block, restrain, or harass the weak; protect dependents and act with fairness, since oppression (rodha) is treated as a serious ethical breach with lasting consequences.