Shloka 11

Kāraṇānvēṣaṇam: The 32 Marks of Hari, Defects (Doṣas), Death-Omens, and Hari’s Omnipresence in Social & Household Life

Devanagari script

तल्लक्षणं दशमं प्राहुरार्या एकादशं निम्ननाभिं तदाहुः / ऊरुद्वयं यस्य च मांसलं वै तल्लक्षणं द्वादशं प्राहुरार्याः

Transliteration

tallakṣaṇaṃ daśamaṃ prāhurāryā ekādaśaṃ nimnanābhiṃ tadāhuḥ / ūrudvayaṃ yasya ca māṃsalaṃ vai tallakṣaṇaṃ dvādaśaṃ prāhurāryāḥ

Translation

The noble sages declare that to be the tenth mark; the eleventh, they say, is one whose navel is depressed. And one whose pair of thighs is truly fleshy—this the noble sages proclaim as the twelfth mark.

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• lakṣaṇam: mark
• lakṣaṇam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• daśamam: tenth
• daśamam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘lakṣaṇam’

• prāhuḥ: they declare
• prāhuḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• āryāḥ: the sages
• āryāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ekādaśam: eleventh
• ekādaśam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘lakṣaṇam’ (understood)

• nimna-nābhim: (one) with a depressed navel
• nimna-nābhim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nimna (प्रातिपदिक) + nābhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; ‘निम्ननाभिम्’ = निम्ना नाभिः यस्य (having a depressed navel) — here as object of ‘āhuḥ’

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• āhuḥ: they say
• āhuḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• ūru-dvayam: a pair of thighs
• ūru-dvayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ūru (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘ऊरुद्वयम्’ = two thighs

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

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

• māṃsalam: fleshy/muscular
• māṃsalam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: māṃsala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘ūrudvayam’

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-निपात (particle: indeed)

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• lakṣaṇam: mark
• lakṣaṇam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dvādaśam: twelfth
• dvādaśam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘lakṣaṇam’

• prāhuḥ: they declare
• prāhuḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• āryāḥ: the sages
• āryāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The body is presented as a readable index of accumulated puṇya and disciplined living; auspiciousness is framed as recognizable order.

Vedantic Theme: Karma’s visible fruition (prārabdha) in embodiment; reminder that the Self transcends the body even while karma shapes it.

Application: Use the passage as a prompt for self-cultivation (discipline, moderation, cleanliness) rather than as deterministic fate-reading.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.22.9-20 (continuation of lakṣaṇa enumeration)

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Garuda
• Aryas (sages)

FAQs

What is the importance of lakṣaṇa (marks) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse shows the text’s method of classifying people through traditional bodily “marks,” enumerating specific traits as the 10th, 11th, and 12th in a larger list used for scriptural assessment.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by listing recognized human “marks,” it situates the Garuda Purana’s broader concern with dharmic evaluation—how a person is understood and assessed—within the larger afterlife discourse of the Preta Kanda.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat it as a historical-scriptural classification system rather than a basis for judging others; apply the broader teaching by focusing on ethical conduct and self-discipline, which the Garuda Purana repeatedly emphasizes in afterlife contexts.