Shloka 5

Kāsa-bheda: The Fivefold Classification of Cough and Its Clinical Signs

Devanagari script

प्रवर्तते सवक्रेण भिन्नकांस्योपमध्वनिः / हृत्पार्श्वेरुशिरः शूलमोहक्षोभस्वरक्षयान्

Transliteration

pravartate savakreṇa bhinnakāṃsyopamadhvaniḥ / hṛtpārśveruśiraḥ śūlamohakṣobhasvarakṣayān

Translation

Then, with a crooked and distorted motion, a sound like cracked bronze arises, bringing piercing pains in the heart, the sides, the thighs, and the head—together with delusion, agitation, loss of voice, and wasting away.

Word by Word

• pravartate: arises / proceeds
• pravartate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vṛt (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्गः प्र

• sa-vakreṇa: with distortion (crookedly)
• sa-vakreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ) + vakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; सहार्थक-उपपद (with crookedness/with distortion)

• bhinna-kāṃsya-upama-dhvaniḥ: a sound like cracked bronze
• bhinna-kāṃsya-upama-dhvaniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhinna (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + kāṃsya (प्रातिपदिक) + upamā (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvani (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (भिन्नकांस्यस्य उपमा यस्य ध्वनिः)

• hṛt-pārśva-īru-śiraḥ: the heart, sides, thighs, and head (as a set)
• hṛt-pārśva-īru-śiraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛd (प्रातिपदिक) + pārśva (प्रातिपदिक) + ūru (प्रातिपदिक) + śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (हृच्च पार्श्वं च ऊरू च शिरश्च)

• śūla-moha-kṣobha-svara-kṣayān: colic pain, delusion, agitation, and loss of voice
• śūla-moha-kṣobha-svara-kṣayān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūla (प्रातिपदिक) + moha (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣobha (प्रातिपदिक) + svara (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (शूलं च मोहः च क्षोभः च स्वरक्षयः च)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Symptom clustering (sound, movement, pain loci, mental disturbance) as diagnostic knowledge; recognition of systemic derangement.

Vedantic Theme: Duḥkha-darśana (clear seeing of suffering) as a spur to vairāgya.

Application: Treat harsh respiratory/phonatory changes and widespread pain with urgency; note mental agitation and voice loss as danger signs; support patient with calm environment and medical attention.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.149.4 (preceding convulsive signs); Garuda Purana 1.149.6–8 (doṣa-specific elaborations)

FAQs

What is the importance of describing such suffering in the Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights how karmic burden can manifest as intense physical and mental distress near death, prompting detachment, repentance, and dharmic living.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

It portrays the destabilization of the embodied condition at life’s end—pain, delusion, agitation, and failing speech—marking the transition toward the post-death (preta) journey described later.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live ethically and cultivate clarity of mind (sattva) through dharma, prayer, and self-control so the end-of-life transition is met with less agitation and greater remembrance of the Divine.