Shloka 50

Devanagari script

मलैर्द्वादशभिः किट्टं भिन्नं देहात् पृथग्भवेत् / कर्णाक्षिनासिका जिह्वा दन्तनाभिवपुर्गुदम्

Transliteration

malairdvādaśabhiḥ kiṭṭaṃ bhinnaṃ dehāt pṛthagbhavet / karṇākṣināsikā jihvā dantanābhivapurgudam

Translation

The impure residue, kitta, becomes separated from the body by twelve kinds of filth; and these are distinct: the ears, the eyes, the nose, the tongue, the teeth, the navel, the skin/body, and the anus.

Word by Word

• मलैः: by impurities
• मलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), बहुवचन; करण/हेतु (by means of/with impurities)

• द्वादशभिः: with twelve
• द्वादशभिः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादशन् (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण (twelve)

• किट्टम्: dross/impurity
• किट्टम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किट्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र कर्तृपदत्वे प्रथमा

• भिन्नम्: separated
• भिन्नम्: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृपूरक)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिद् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘separated/split’

• देहात्: from the body
• देहात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th case), एकवचन; अपादान (from)

• पृथक्: separately
• पृथक्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (separately)

• भवेत्: would become/should be
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कर्ण-अक्षि-नासिका: ear, eye, and nose (organs)
• कर्ण-अक्षि-नासिका: Karta (Enumerated subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षि (प्रातिपदिक) + नासिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन (समाहार/समुदायवाचक); सूची (list)

• जिह्वा: tongue
• जिह्वा: Karta (Enumerated subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जिह्वा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• दन्त-नाभि-वपुः-गुदम्: teeth, navel, body, and anus
• दन्त-नाभि-वपुः-गुदम्: Karta (Enumerated subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दन्त (प्रातिपदिक) + नाभि (प्रातिपदिक) + वपुस् (प्रातिपदिक) + गुद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (समाहार/समुदायवाचक); सूची (list)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The body generates and expels मल (impurities) through multiple loci; contemplation supports dispassion (vairāgya).

Vedantic Theme: Dehābhimāna-nivṛtti (loosening identification with the body); asubha-bhāvanā (contemplation of impurity) as an aid to detachment.

Application: Cultivate humility and non-attachment; maintain cleanliness and health practices without vanity; use contemplation to reduce compulsive body-identification.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: bodily loci (organs/openings)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.32.49 (kitta vs rasa); Garuda Purana 2.32.51 (mala support; feces/urine; body from semen-blood)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the importance of bodily impurity (mala) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse stresses the body’s composition and functions as bound to impurities, supporting the Purana’s teaching of detachment from the physical body during death and post-death rites.

How does this verse relate to the soul’s journey after death in the Preta Kanda?

By highlighting separation and impurity in bodily parts, it frames the body as perishable while the journey described in the Preta Kanda concerns the subtle being (preta) moving onward beyond the gross body.

Practical application of this teaching today?

Cultivate detachment and humility about the body, and observe cleanliness and prescribed funeral/śrāddha disciplines with the understanding that the body is transient while ethical conduct (dharma/karma) endures.