Shloka 32

Devanagari script

पञ्चवर्षाधिको भूत्वा महापापैर्विपच्यते / योनिं पूरयते यस्मान्मृतो ऽप्यायाति याति च

Transliteration

pañcavarṣādhiko bhūtvā mahāpāpairvipacyate / yoniṃ pūrayate yasmānmṛto 'pyāyāti yāti ca

Translation

Having lived beyond five years, a person is ‘cooked’ in suffering by great sins. Because he again fills the womb—entering conception once more—even after death he comes and goes, returning repeatedly in the cycle of birth and death.

Word by Word

• पञ्चवर्षाधिकः: older than five years
• पञ्चवर्षाधिकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या) + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (पञ्च वर्षाणि अधिकः = five years and more/older than five years)

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable); (eng: having become)

• महापापैः: by great sins
• महापापैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (पूर्वपद) + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (महानि पापानि)

• विपच्यते: is tormented/undergoes (ripening)
• विपच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + पच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• योनिम्: womb, birth-state
• योनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पूरयते: fills
• पूरयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूर्/पॄ (धातु)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिजन्त-भाव (causative sense possible: causes to fill)

• यस्मात्: because (of which)
• यस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (eng: because/from which reason)

• मृतः: dead (person)
• मृतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from मृ धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) (eng: dead)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; even/also)

• आयाति: comes
• आयाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + या (धातु)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• याति: goes
• याति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: After five years, great sins ripen into intense suffering; due to repeated womb-entry, the jīva ‘comes and goes’ even after death—saṃsāra propelled by karma.

Vedantic Theme: Saṃsāra as anādi bondage; karma as the causal mechanism for punarjanma; necessity of purification and liberation-seeking to end recurrence.

Application: Take pāpa seriously; pursue prāyaścitta, ethical restraint, and devotion/knowledge practices aimed at breaking repetitive patterns and reducing harmful actions.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Geographic Context

Type: womb/cycle-of-birth

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa themes on rebirth, pāpa, and the mechanics of return (general)

Characters & Entities

• Pretas
• Yoni (womb/rebirth)

FAQs

What is the importance of rebirth (yoni) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse links heavy sin (mahāpāpa) with continued entry into the womb, showing that unresolved karma forces repeated rebirth rather than liberation.

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

It implies that after death the being does not simply end; due to grave sins it undergoes torment and then returns again through conception—‘coming and going’ in saṃsāra.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live ethically and reduce harmful actions; the verse warns that grave wrongdoing leads to intense suffering and continued rebirth, not peace after death.