Shloka 24

Nīti for Calamity, Wealth, Friendship, Charity, and Restraint of Kāma

Devanagari script

नग्ना व्यसनिनो रूक्षाः कपालाङ्कितपाणयः / दर्शयन्तीह लोकस्य अदातुः फलमीदृशम्

Transliteration

nagnā vyasanino rūkṣāḥ kapālāṅkitapāṇayaḥ / darśayantīha lokasya adātuḥ phalamīdṛśam

Translation

Naked, addicted to vice, and harsh by nature—with hands marked by skulls—they are displayed here before the world, as an example of what kind of fruit befalls one who does not give in charity (dāna).

Word by Word

• नग्नाः: naked
• नग्नाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नग्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• व्यसनिनः: addicted, afflicted by vice/misfortune
• व्यसनिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्यसनिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• रूक्षाः: harsh, rough
• रूक्षाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रूक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• कपालाङ्कितपाणयः: those whose hands are marked with skulls
• कपालाङ्कितपाणयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपाल + अङ्कित + पाणि (प्रातिपदिक); कपाल-अङ्कित-पाणि
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयभावः (कपालैः अङ्किताः पाणयः यस्य)

• दर्शयन्ति: they show
• दर्शयन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• लोकस्य: of the world/people
• लोकस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अदातुः: of the non-giver
• अदातुः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्गयुक्त (a-giver)

• फलम्: result, fruit
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ईदृशम्: such, like this
• ईदृशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ईदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (फलम् इति)

Speaker

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

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Naraka

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Adāna (refusal to give) yields visible, degrading karmaphala; charity protects dignity and future welfare.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-bandha and its tangible fruits; attachment to wealth (lobha) as a binding impurity.

Application: Practice regular dāna (food, clothing, money) according to capacity; cultivate generosity to counter greed.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: court/roadside spectacle in the afterlife

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: dāna-nindā and kṛpaṇa-phala passages around 1.109; Garuda Purana: descriptions of sinners being displayed/tormented in Yama’s realm (general Pretakalpa motif)

FAQs

What is the importance of dāna (charity) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse presents dāna as a decisive karmic factor: refusing to give leads to degrading, publicly demonstrative suffering that serves as a warning to others.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

It implies that specific moral failures—here, being a non-giver—produce identifiable post-death states and punishments, where the sinner’s condition becomes a didactic display of karma-phala.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate regular giving (food, money, service, support to the needy) and reduce addictive habits and harshness—because generosity and self-restraint are treated as protections against severe karmic outcomes.