Shloka 18

Devanagari script

मर्मसु च्छिद्यमानेषु परिदेवी निरुद्धवाक् / एते सिध्येयुरव्यक्ताः व्यक्ताः प्राणहरा ध्रुवम्

Transliteration

marmasu cchidyamāneṣu paridevī niruddhavāk / ete sidhyeyuravyaktāḥ vyaktāḥ prāṇaharā dhruvam

Translation

When the vital points (marmas) are being pierced, she wails, her speech choked off. These forces, while unmanifest, may go unnoticed; but when they become manifest, they surely turn into destroyers of life.

Word by Word

• मर्मसु: in the vital points (joints/marmas)
• मर्मसु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन

• च्छिद्यमानेषु: while being cut/pierced
• च्छिद्यमानेषु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद् (धातु) + यमान (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि-प्रयोगे शतृ/शानच्-समकक्षः वर्तमानकृदन्त (passive present participle), सप्तमी बहुवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (मर्मसु इत्यनेन सह)

• परिदेवी: the lamenting (woman/person)
• परिदेवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परि + दिव् (धातु) → परिदेविन्/परिदेवी (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• निरुद्धवाक्: with speech restrained
• निरुद्धवाक्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निरुद्ध (नि + रुध्, कृदन्त) + वाक् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (निरुद्धा वाक् यस्याः सा)

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सिध्येयुः: would succeed/come to pass
• सिध्येयुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सिध् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• अव्यक्ताः: unmanifest/unclear
• अव्यक्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + व्यक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्ग-निषेध

• व्यक्ताः: manifest/clear
• व्यक्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्यक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• प्राणहराः: life-taking
• प्राणहराः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक) + हर (हृ धातु-आधारित प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (प्राणान् हरन्ति इति)

• ध्रुवम्: certainly
• ध्रुवम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चयार्थक-क्रियाविशेषण)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Latent (avyakta) causes may be unnoticed, but when they become manifest (vyakta) they produce decisive effects—here, destruction of life through injury to marmas.

Vedantic Theme: Avyakta–vyakta distinction; causality and manifestation (kārya-kāraṇa-bhāva) applied to embodied life.

Application: Recognize subtle/hidden risks (especially to vital points) and prevent escalation; cultivate vigilance toward early signs before they become overt and harmful.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: sections on śarīra/āyurveda and marma-prabhāva (vital-point injury); Garuda Purana: discussions of prāṇa and its vulnerability

FAQs

What is the importance of marma (vital points) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights that injury to marmas causes extreme distress and can choke speech, indicating their decisive role in the collapse of prāṇa during the dying process.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

By describing prāṇa being destroyed when certain forces become “manifest,” it frames death as a transition triggered by specific, powerful conditions that overwhelm the embodied life-force.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat life and the body with care—avoid violence and harm, protect health, and cultivate calmness and dharma so the end-of-life transition is faced with awareness rather than panic.