Shloka 22

Devanagari script

ग्रहणान्तिकमित्येके केशान्तश्चैव षोडशे / आषोडशाऽद्वाविंशाच्चाचतुर्विंशाच्च वत्सरात्

Transliteration

grahaṇāntikamityeke keśāntaścaiva ṣoḍaśe / āṣoḍaśā'dvāviṃśāccācaturviṃśācca vatsarāt

Translation

Some say the rite should be performed near the time of an eclipse; and the keśānta (first shaving of the beard) is prescribed in the sixteenth year—alternatively, after the sixteenth, in the twenty-second, or in the twenty-fourth year.

Word by Word

• grahaṇa-antikam: ‘near the time of initiation’ (as a term)
• grahaṇa-antikam: Karma (Quoted term/object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grahaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + antika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (ग्रहणस्य अन्तिकम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र मतभेदवाचकं पदम्

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-उद्धरणसूचक (quotative particle)

• eke: some (people)
• eke: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• keśāntaḥ: the rite of cutting hair (keśānta)
• keśāntaḥ: Karta (Subject/topic/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction ‘and’)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• ṣoḍaśe: at (age) sixteen
• ṣoḍaśe: Adhikarana (Location in time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣoḍaśan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन; (वर्षे/वयसि) ‘at sixteen’

• ā-ṣoḍaśāt: up to sixteen
• ā-ṣoḍaśāt: Adhikarana (Temporal limit/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + ṣoḍaśan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव; ‘आ’ = ‘up to’; पञ्चमी-अर्थे (limit)

• dvāviṃśāt: from twenty-two
• dvāviṃśāt: Apadana (Limit-point/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāviṃśati (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; पञ्चमी (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; ‘from twenty-two’ (as limit-point)

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

• ā-caturviṃśāt: up to twenty-four
• ā-caturviṃśāt: Adhikarana (Temporal limit/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + caturviṃśati (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव; ‘आ’ = ‘up to’; पञ्चमी-अर्थे (limit)

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

• vatsarāt: from (that many) years (of age)
• vatsarāt: Apadana (Ablative/starting point/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; ‘from (so many) years’ (age reckoning)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vinata-putra, within the Achara Kanda discourse on samskāras)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Kāla-niyama for saṃskāras: some recommend performance near an eclipse; keśānta is prescribed at 16, or alternatively at 22 or 24.

Vedantic Theme: Ritual order (niyama) and alignment with cosmic rhythms (kāla) as supports for inner discipline; dharma as harmonization with ṛta-like order.

Application: Plan life-cycle rites with attention to traditional timing (age/auspicious periods) under guidance of competent ritual authorities.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: ritual setting (saṃskāra venue)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.94.21 (brahmacarya duration); Garuda Purana 1.94.23-24 (upanayana deadline; vrātya consequences)

FAQs

What is the importance of the keśānta samskāra in the Garuda Purana?

This verse treats keśānta as a recognized rite of passage and specifies acceptable age windows, emphasizing orderly observance of samskāras as part of dharmic discipline.

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

Indirectly: by prescribing samskāras, it frames righteous living and ritual order as foundations that support spiritual progress, which later sections connect to post-death outcomes.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Follow a legitimate tradition (śākhā/family practice) and a qualified priest’s guidance for rite timing; the verse allows multiple accepted age ranges rather than a single rigid date.