Shloka 2

Entry into Yama’s Abode; Nature, Causes, and Signs of the Preta-State

Devanagari script

चतुर्युक्ताशीति लक्षैर्नरकैः पर्युपासिताः / यमेन रक्षितास्तत्र भूतैश्चैव सहस्रशः

Transliteration

caturyuktāśīti lakṣairnarakaiḥ paryupāsitāḥ / yamena rakṣitāstatra bhūtaiścaiva sahasraśaḥ

Translation

There, the hells—eighty-four lakhs in number—stand arrayed all around; they are guarded by Yama, and also by thousands upon thousands of bhūtas, dread beings.

Word by Word

• चतुर्युक्ताशीति: eighty-four
• चतुर्युक्ताशीति: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक) + युक्त (युज्-धातु, क्त कृदन्त) + अशीति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-समास-विशेषण; प्रातिपदिकरूपेण संख्यावाचक (84: 'eighty joined with four')

• लक्षैः: by lakhs; in hundreds of thousands
• लक्षैः: Karana (Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• नरकैः: by hells; with hells
• नरकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• पर्युपासिताः: attended/served; surrounded and waited upon
• पर्युपासिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + उप + आस् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकाले क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); प्रथमा बहुवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग

• यमेन: by Yama
• यमेन: Kartr-karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• रक्षिताः: guarded
• रक्षिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रक्ष् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकाले क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); प्रथमा बहुवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• भूतैः: by beings; spirits
• भूतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• सहस्रशः: by the thousands
• सहस्रशः: Kriya-visheshana (Manner/Measure)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + शस् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (distributive adverb: by thousands)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Naraka

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Narakas are numerous and ordered; punitive realms are guarded and administered—implying precise karmic retribution rather than randomness.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-phala as determinate; cosmic administration (adhidaiva) mirrors moral causality; fear as a pedagogic aid toward dharma.

Application: Use the teaching as deterrence: identify habitual harms (violence, deceit, exploitation) and implement concrete restraints and restitution.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Geographic Context

Type: hell-region/complex

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: enumerations of narakas and their guardians (broad internal linkage); Garuda Purana: Yama’s attendants/bhūtas as enforcers of karmic order (general theme)

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Narakas
• Bhutas

FAQs

What is the importance of the “84 lakh narakas” idea in the Garuda Purana?

This verse stresses the vast, highly structured scope of karmic retribution—many distinct narakas are conceived to match the diversity of actions (karma) and their results.

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

By placing Yama and his attendants as guardians of the narakas, the verse frames the post-death journey as a regulated moral administration where deeds are assessed and consequences are enforced.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat actions as consequential: cultivate dharma (ethical restraint, truthfulness, non-harm) and support death-rites/charity with sincerity, remembering that accountability is central to the text’s afterlife teaching.