Garuda Purana — Moksha Sadhana Prakarana, Shloka 104

Jñāna-hetu-nirūpaṇa

On the Causes/Means of Knowledge

Devanagari script

चक्षुरिन्द्रियमानी तु तस्माच्छतगुणो वरः / तस्माच्छगुणैर्हीनः स्पर्शमानसुरो महान्

Transliteration

cakṣurindriyamānī tu tasmācchataguṇo varaḥ / tasmācchaguṇairhīnaḥ sparśamānasuro mahān

Translation

The presiding principle of the eye-sense is said to be a hundredfold superior to that; yet the great being who presides over the mind connected with touch is inferior to it by six qualities.

Word by Word

• चक्षुः: eye
• चक्षुः: सम्बन्ध (Relational in compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्षुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद (in compound)

• इन्द्रियमानी: the sense-identifying (entity)
• इन्द्रियमानी: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रिय + मानिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: इन्द्रिय-मानिन् (one who takes pride/identifies with a sense-organ); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विशेष/विरोधार्थक

• तस्मात्: than that/from that
• तस्मात्: अपादान (Apādāna/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शतगुणः: hundredfold
• शतगुणः: विशेषण (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: शत-गुण; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वरः: superior
• वरः: विशेषण (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that
• तस्मात्: अपादान (Apādāna/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गुणैः: by/with qualities (measures)
• गुणैः: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• हीनः: devoid (of)
• हीनः: विशेषण (Adjectival predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्पर्शमानसुरः: the sparśa-mānasura (touch-being)
• स्पर्शमानसुरः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्पर्श + मानसुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: स्पर्श-मानसुर (touch-related mānasura); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• महान्: great
• महान्: विशेषण (Adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Differentiation among sense-presiding intelligences and mind-associated modalities (here, touch-linked mind), indicating layered governance of cognition.

Vedantic Theme: Viveka between indriya, manas, and their presiding forces; relative gradations within prakṛti’s functional hierarchy.

Application: Use the teaching as a contemplative map: track how touch and sight condition the mind differently; practice pratyāhāra (withdrawal) by noticing which sense dominates and re-centering awareness.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.12 (continued taratamya of ‘mānāsuras’/presiding principles)

Characters & Entities

• Asuras
• Indriya-abhimanis

FAQs

What is the importance of the hierarchy of senses in Garuda Purana?

It maps the relative power of sensory and mental faculties in the subtle body, helping explain how perception and experience continue in post-death states.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

By ranking the presiding forces of senses and mind, it implies that the departed being’s experiences depend on subtler internal regulators beyond the gross organs.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate restraint and clarity of perception—especially over sensory craving—since the mind-sense complex is treated as a real driver of experience, not merely the physical organs.