Shloka 82

Yamamārga, Antyeṣṭi-vidhi, and Daśāhika Piṇḍa-dāna

Road to Yama and Ten-Day Offerings

Devanagari script

याम्यं सौरिपुरं नगेन्द्रभवनं गन्धर्वशैलागमौ / क्रोञ्चं क्रूरपुरं विचित्रभवनं बह्वापदं दुः खदम्

Transliteration

yāmyaṃ sauripuraṃ nagendrabhavanaṃ gandharvaśailāgamau / kroñcaṃ krūrapuraṃ vicitrabhavanaṃ bahvāpadaṃ duḥ khadam

Translation

There are regions known as Yāmya, Sauripura, Nagendra-bhavana, and the Gandharva mountain-range; also Kroñca, Krūra-pura, and Vicittra-bhavana—places filled with many calamities, bringing sorrow and suffering.

Word by Word

• याम्यम्: (the city) of Yama
• याम्यम्: Karma (Object, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: याम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; (पुरम्) इति शेषः

• सौरिपुरम्: Sauri’s city
• सौरिपुरम्: Karma (Object, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौरि + पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सौरेः पुरम्)

• नगेन्द्रभवनम्: the dwelling of the lord of mountains
• नगेन्द्रभवनम्: Karma (Object, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नग + इन्द्र + भवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नगेन्द्रस्य भवनम्)

• गन्धर्वशैलागमौ: Gandharva-śaila and Āgama (two places)
• गन्धर्वशैलागमौ: Karma (Objects, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व + शैल + आगम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), द्विवचन; द्वन्द्व (गन्धर्वशैलः च आगमः च) — two places named

• क्रोञ्चम्: Kroñca (a place)
• क्रोञ्चम्: Karma (Object, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रोञ्च (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; (पुरम्/स्थानम्) इति शेषः

• क्रूरपुरम्: the cruel city
• क्रूरपुरम्: Karma (Object, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रूर + पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (क्रूरं पुरम्)

• विचित्रभवनम्: the wondrous dwelling
• विचित्रभवनम्: Karma (Object, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विचित्र + भवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (विचित्रं भवनम्)

• बह्वापदम्: full of many calamities
• बह्वापदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु + आपद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (बह्व्यः आपदः यस्मिन् तत्) — (भवनम्/पुरम्) विशेषण

• दुःखदम्: pain-giving
• दुःखदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख + द (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष/कृदन्त (दुःखं ददाति इति) — (भवनम्/पुरम्) विशेषण

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The post-mortem path contains differentiated zones of experience shaped by karma; suffering is structured, not random.

Vedantic Theme: Adhyāropa of cosmography to teach karma’s certainty; saṃsāra as a graded field of experience for the subtle body.

Application: Reduce papa through restraint, charity, truthfulness, and devotion; support ancestors with rites so the journey is less afflicted.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Geographic Context

Type: named regions/cities and mountain-range on the yamamārga

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: enumerations of yamamārga stations and their torments; Garuda Purana: naraka lists that expand on ‘krūra’ and ‘duḥkhada’ regions

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Gandharvas
• Nagas

FAQs

What is the importance of Yama’s realms (Yāmya, Sauripura, Krūrapura) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse lists specific Yama-related regions as part of the post-death landscape, emphasizing that the afterlife journey includes domains associated with suffering and peril for those bound by harmful karma.

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

By naming multiple fearsome realms and routes, it implies that the preta’s journey is not a single place but a sequence of stations—some harsh—governed by karmic consequences under Yama’s order.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with restraint and dharma—reduce cruelty, deceit, and harm—so the karmic conditions that lead to “bahvāpada” (many dangers) and “duḥkhadam” (sorrow-giving) states are weakened.