Shloka 63
Haristuti-saṅgraha: Devatā–Ṛṣi Praṇāma, Nāma-māhātmya, and Vairāgya from Deha-āsakti
क्रतुरुवाच / प्राणप्रयाणसमये भगवंस्तवैव नामानि संसृतिजदुः खविनाशकानि / येनैकजन्मशमलं सहसैव हित्वा संयाति मुक्तिममलां तमहं प्रपद्ये
kraturuvāca / prāṇaprayāṇasamaye bhagavaṃstavaiva nāmāni saṃsṛtijaduḥ khavināśakāni / yenaikajanmaśamalaṃ sahasaiva hitvā saṃyāti muktimamalāṃ tamahaṃ prapadye
Kratu said: At the moment when the life-breath departs, O Blessed Lord, it is indeed Your names that destroy the sorrows born of worldly wandering. By them, casting off at once the stain of even a single lifetime, one attains stainless liberation. To that Lord I take refuge.
Kratu (a sage/ṛṣi)
Afterlife Stage: Moksha
Concept: Viṣṇu-nāma at the time of death destroys saṃsāra-born sorrow and burns karmic stain, granting stainless liberation.
Vedantic Theme: Nāma as upāya (means) for mokṣa; antaḥkāla-smṛti; grace-mediated purification overriding accumulated mala.
Application: Establish daily nāma-japa so it arises naturally at death; keep a simple practice (e.g., 108 repetitions) and cultivate remembrance during crises.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: deathbed/liminal threshold
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: repeated teaching that Viṣṇu-smaraṇa/nāma at death protects the jīva on the Yama-path and leads to higher gati
FAQs
This verse states that the Lord’s names destroy the sufferings born of saṁsāra and can remove the stain of a lifetime, leading the departing soul toward pure liberation.
It emphasizes that remembrance/utterance of the Lord’s names at the moment the life-breath leaves becomes a decisive spiritual support, severing karmic impurity and directing one toward moksha rather than continued wandering.
Cultivate daily nāma-smaraṇa (repetition/remembering of divine names) so that, even in crisis or at life’s end, the mind naturally turns to the Lord with surrender.