Shloka 21
नरः पापविनाशाय कुर्वीत परमौषधम् / देहः किमन्नदातुः स्विन्निषेक्तुर्मातुरेव वा
naraḥ pāpavināśāya kurvīta paramauṣadham / dehaḥ kimannadātuḥ svinniṣekturmātureva vā
To destroy sin, a person should employ the supreme remedy. For whose, indeed, is this body—of the giver of food, of the begetter who planted the seed, or only of the mother who bore it?
Lord Vishnu (in dialogue teaching Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Employ the highest remedy to destroy sin; the body is not truly ‘owned’—it is contingent on food-giver, father’s seed, and mother’s bearing, undermining egoic claim.
Vedantic Theme: Anātma-vāda regarding the body; deha as a composite dependent entity; impetus toward prāyaścitta and higher purification culminating in bhakti/jñāna.
Application: Practice humility and gratitude to parents/food-providers; adopt a concrete sin-remedy regimen (confession, restraint, charity, mantra-japa) and reduce possessiveness.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: repeated emphasis that pāpa must be destroyed through ‘auṣadha’ like nāma-smaraṇa, dāna, vrata, and prāyaścitta (contextual within Pretakalpa/Dharma sections).
FAQs
This verse frames sin-destruction as requiring a highest spiritual remedy—an inner corrective that supports death-preparedness by loosening identification with the physical body.
By questioning who the body truly belongs to (nourisher, father, or mother), it undermines bodily possessiveness—supporting the Purana’s broader teaching that the jīva must depart, while the body is merely a temporary composite sustained by others.
Practice detachment and gratitude: treat the body as entrusted (supported by parents and society), reduce ego-based claims, and adopt sincere pāpa-śamana disciplines (ethical living, repentance, and purifying rites) to prepare for life’s end.