Shloka 24

Garuḍa’s Return to Vaikuṇṭha and the Comprehensive Inquiry into Death-Rites and the Preta’s Journey

Devanagari script

मया विलोकितं सर्वं जगत्स्थावरजङ्गमम् / भूर्लोकात्सत्यपर्यन्तं पुरं याम्यं विना प्रभो

Transliteration

mayā vilokitaṃ sarvaṃ jagatsthāvarajaṅgamam / bhūrlokātsatyaparyantaṃ puraṃ yāmyaṃ vinā prabho

Translation

O Lord, I have beheld the entire universe—everything unmoving and moving—from Bhū-loka up to Satya-loka; only the city of Yama I have not seen, O Prabhu.

Word by Word

• मया: by me
• मया: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (instrumental pronoun)

• विलोकितम्: seen
• विलोकितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + लोक् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगे ‘seen’

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्थावरजङ्गमम्: (both) immovable and movable
• स्थावरजङ्गमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थावर (प्रातिपदिक) + जङ्गम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (स्थावरं च जङ्गमं च)

• भूर्लोकात्: from Bhūrloka (earth-world)
• भूर्लोकात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूः (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भूः-लोकः)

• सत्यपर्यन्तम्: up to Satyaloka
• सत्यपर्यन्तम्: Desha/Avadhi (Limit/अवधि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्यन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास, अव्ययवत्; अर्थः—‘सत्यलोकपर्यन्तम्’ (up to Satyaloka)

• पुरम्: the city
• पुरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• याम्यम्: of Yama (Yama’s)
• याम्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: याम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘यमसम्बन्धि’

• विना: except/without
• विना: Sambandha (Exclusion/अपवाद)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपपद (preposition) — ‘without/except’; सह द्वितीयया

• प्रभो: O Lord
• प्रभो: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative) विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Garuda (Vinata-putra) addressing Lord Vishnu

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The cosmos includes graded lokas up to Satya; Yama’s domain is a special locus of karmic adjudication, not casually accessed.

Vedantic Theme: Moral causality embedded in cosmic order; lokas as experiential outcomes within samsara.

Application: Let awareness of Yama’s realm motivate ethical living and remembrance of mortality; prioritize actions that reduce papa and cultivate punya.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: cosmic realms/city

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: Yama’s city, messengers, judgment, narakas (general parallel)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Vishnu
• Yama
• Bhūrloka
• Satya-loka

FAQs

What is the importance of Yama’s city (Yāmya-pura) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse frames Yama’s city as a distinct and crucial realm within afterlife teaching—something even a cosmic traveler like Garuḍa has not directly seen—setting up Vishnu’s explanation of Yama-loka and post-death judgment.

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

By contrasting known worlds (Bhūrloka through Satya-loka) with the unseen Yama-pura, it points to a separate jurisdiction tied to death, karmic accounting, and the preta’s journey—topics that Vishnu will elaborate in the surrounding narrative.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat actions as consequential: the verse introduces Yama’s realm as a moral-judicial space, encouraging ethical living and mindful observance of śrāddha/antyeṣṭi duties that the Garuda Purana links to the departed’s well-being.