Shloka 42

Devanagari script

वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरो ऽपराणि / तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही

Transliteration

vāsāṃsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro 'parāṇi / tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānyanyāni saṃyāti navāni dehī

Translation

Just as a person casts off worn-out garments and takes up other, new ones, so the embodied soul abandons old, decayed bodies and attains other, new bodies.

Word by Word

• वासांसि: garments
• वासांसि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• जीर्णानि: worn-out
• जीर्णानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जीर्ण (कृदन्त; √जॄ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.; past participle)

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/रीति-वाचक (indeclinable; 'as/just as')

• विहाय: having left/abandoned
• विहाय: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial to main verb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√हा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive); 'having abandoned'

• नवानि: new
• नवानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• गृह्णाति: takes
• गृह्णाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Present, Parasmaipada, 3rd sg.)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nom., Sg.)

• अपराणि: other (ones)
• अपराणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• तथा: so/in the same way
• तथा: Sambandha (Correlative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदनुरूप/एवम्-वाचक (indeclinable; 'so/in the same way')

• शरीराणि: bodies
• शरीराणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• विहाय: having abandoned
• विहाय: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√हा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive)

• जीर्णानि: worn-out
• जीर्णानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जीर्ण (कृदन्त; √जॄ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• अन्यानि: other (ones)
• अन्यानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• संयाति: goes/attains
• संयाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Present, 3rd sg.)

• नवानि: new
• नवानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Pl.)

• देही: the embodied one
• देही: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देहिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nom., Sg.)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda, Vinatā-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The embodied self (dehī) is distinct from the body and migrates to new bodies as old ones decay.

Vedantic Theme: Ātman nitya; śarīra anitya; saṃsāra as upādhi-parivartana (change of adjuncts).

Application: Cultivate detachment from bodily identity, reduce fear of death, and prioritize dharma and sādhana over bodily anxieties.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: descriptions of the subtle/preta body and karmic embodiment (general parallel themes)

Characters & Entities

• Dehī (jīva)

FAQs

What is the importance of transmigration (dehāntara-prāpti) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse teaches that death is not the end of the self; the dehī (jīva) continues and takes a new body, grounding Garuda Purana’s afterlife teachings in the continuity of karma and rebirth.

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

It clarifies the core principle that the soul leaves the worn-out physical body and proceeds to another embodiment; this underlies later descriptions of post-death states and karmic outcomes in the Preta Kanda.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate detachment from the body and status, and focus on dharma and ethical action—since what continues is the jīva shaped by karma, not the perishable “garment” of the body.