Shloka 64

Devanagari script

त्यजेद्वन्ध्यामष्टमे ऽब्दे नवमे तु मृतप्रिजाम् / एकादशे स्त्रीजननीं सद्यश्चाप्रियावादिनीम्

Transliteration

tyajedvandhyāmaṣṭame 'bde navame tu mṛtaprijām / ekādaśe strījananīṃ sadyaścāpriyāvādinīm

Translation

In the eighth year one may abandon a barren wife; in the ninth, a wife whose children die; in the eleventh, a wife who bears only daughters; and at once, a wife who speaks harshly or utters what is displeasing.

Word by Word

• tyajet: should abandon/should leave
• tyajet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: लोट्/विधिलिङ् (Optative/Imperative sense), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (singular)

• vandhyām: a barren woman
• vandhyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vandhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (singular)

• aṣṭame: in the eighth
• aṣṭame: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• abde: year
• abde: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• navame: in the ninth
• navame: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: navama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपातः (particle: but/indeed)

• mṛtaprijām: a woman whose child is dead
• mṛtaprijām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (mṛtā prajā yasyāḥ)

• ekādaśe: in the eleventh
• ekādaśe: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• strījananīm: mother of (only) daughters
• strījananīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक) + jananī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (strīṇāṃ jananī)

• sadyaḥ: immediately
• sadyaḥ: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of time: immediately)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः (conjunction: and)

• apriyāvādinīm: a woman who speaks unpleasantly
• apriyāvādinīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-priya (प्रातिपदिक) + vādinī (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (singular); कर्मधारयः (apriyāṃ vācam vadati iti)

Speaker

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

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Marriage evaluated through progeny, household harmony, and speech ethics; permissibility of abandonment under specified conditions.

Vedantic Theme: Pravṛtti-dharma (worldly order) contrasted implicitly with higher renunciation; speech (vāk) as a moral force affecting harmony.

Application: Read as a historical dharma norm; in modern application, treat as a caution about household discord and the ethical weight of speech, not as a literal prescription for abandonment.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.115 (nīti/dharma-śikṣā section context)

FAQs

What is the importance of household (grihastha) dharma in the Garuda Purana?

This verse treats marriage as a dharmic institution with prescribed social expectations, showing how the text frames household stability, progeny, and speech/behavior as key factors in domestic order.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul in the Garuda Purana?

It does not directly address the soul’s post-death journey; rather, it belongs to Achara Kanda guidance on conduct (dharma) in worldly life, which the Purana presents as foundational for auspicious karmic outcomes.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Read it as a historical dharma passage about household ethics and social expectations; in modern practice, the constructive takeaway is prioritizing respectful speech, responsibility, and compassionate decision-making in family life.