Shloka 43

Saṅkara-jāti-nirṇaya and Gṛhastha-ācāra: Daily Rites, Purity, Anadhyāya, and Food Discipline

Devanagari script

विरुद्धं वर्जयेत्कम प्रेतधूमं नदीतरम् / केशभस्मतुषाङ्गारकपालेषु च संस्थितिम्

Transliteration

viruddhaṃ varjayetkama pretadhūmaṃ nadītaram / keśabhasmatuṣāṅgārakapāleṣu ca saṃsthitim

Translation

One should avoid incompatible, improper conduct; likewise one should shun the smoke of the funeral pyre and the crossing of a river at improper times. One should also avoid staying amid hair, ashes, husks, embers, and skulls.

Word by Word

• viruddham: incompatible (things)
• viruddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viruddha (कृदन्त; वि+रुध् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘विरुद्ध’ (incompatible/forbidden)

• varjayet: should avoid
• varjayet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛj/varj (वर्ज् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• kāmam: indeed/at all costs
• kāmam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kāma (काम प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोगे अव्ययवत्; ‘कामम्’ (optionally/at will; here: ‘certainly/indeed’)

• preta-dhūmam: smoke from a corpse/funeral smoke
• preta-dhūmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta (प्रेत प्रातिपदिक) + dhūma (धूम प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (determinative)

• nadī-taram: crossing a river
• nadī-taram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (नदी प्रातिपदिक) + tara (तर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष ‘नदी-तरम्’ (crossing a river/river-crossing)

• keśa-bhasma-tuṣa-aṅgāra-kapāleṣu: in hair, ash, husk, charcoal, and skulls/potsherds
• keśa-bhasma-tuṣa-aṅgāra-kapāleṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśa (प्रातिपदिक) + bhasma (प्रातिपदिक) + tuṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅgāra (प्रातिपदिक) + kapāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (locative), बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (copulative)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• saṃsthitim: standing/remaining (in contact)
• saṃsthitim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsthiti (संस्थिति प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Viṣṇu (in instruction to Garuḍa, Vinatā-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Avoid viruddha-ācāra (incompatible/contradictory conduct) and aśauca-laden environments that disturb purity and mental steadiness.

Vedantic Theme: Managing tamas-inducing influences; maintaining sattva through place, time, and association.

Application: Observe boundaries around funerary spaces unless duty requires; avoid lingering in unclean/unsafe areas; follow local dharmic and practical norms for travel and river crossings.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: śmaśāna (cremation ground); river ford/ghāṭa

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.96 (aśauca/śmaśāna-adjacent cautions)

Characters & Entities

• Preta

FAQs

What is the importance of avoiding 'preta-dhūma' in the Garuda Purana?

This verse treats funeral-pyre smoke as a strong marker of death-associated impurity and advises avoidance to preserve ritual and psychological auspiciousness.

How does this verse relate to the soul’s journey and after-death themes?

By warning against death-associated environments (preta-related signs), it reinforces the Garuda Purana’s broader concern with maintaining dharmic purity around death and post-death transitions.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Keep clear boundaries around cremation/impurity contexts when observing vows, pūjā, or sādhana; favor cleanliness and avoid lingering in unhygienic or inauspicious surroundings.