Shloka 14
मुक्ता-उत्पत्ति-भेदाः, मूल्य-मान-निर्णयः, शोधन-परीक्षा-लक्षणानि
Pearl Sources, Valuation, Refinement, and Identification
पयोधराक्रान्तिविलम्बिनम्रैर्घनैर्नवैराव्रियते ऽन्तरिक्षम् / न तं भुजङ्गा न तु यातुधाना न व्याधयो नाप्युपसर्गदोषाः
payodharākrāntivilambinamrairghanairnavairāvriyate 'ntarikṣam / na taṃ bhujaṅgā na tu yātudhānā na vyādhayo nāpyupasargadoṣāḥ
As the sky is covered by fresh clouds—heavy with water—moving slowly and bending low, so too his path is veiled from harm. Serpents do not afflict him, nor do yātudhāna demonic forces; neither diseases nor misfortunes and evil portents can touch him.
Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vinatā-putra)
Concept: Properly established protection (rakṣā) wards off multiple classes of harm—animal, demonic, disease, and ominous forces.
Vedantic Theme: Kṣema (security) as a fruit of ordered living and right means; reduction of fear supports inner peace (śānti).
Application: Adopt layered protection: ethical conduct, disciplined rituals/prayers, and prudent health/safety habits to reduce avoidable harms.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: sky/atmospheric canopy; protective perimeter
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.69.13 (rakṣā-vidhāna installation as cause)
FAQs
This verse frames spiritual merit and right living as a protective covering—like dense rainclouds veiling the sky—through which common afflictions (disease, ominous influences, hostile beings) fail to reach the person.
While not describing the post-death journey directly, it teaches a principle used throughout the Garuda Purana: accumulated dharma functions as a shield, reducing fear and obstruction from harmful forces that may trouble embodied life and transitional states.
Cultivate dharmic conduct and sattvic discipline (truthfulness, restraint, charity, devotion) as the primary ‘protection’—the text emphasizes inner merit over fear-based obsession with external harms.