Shloka 5
Dāna as Prāyaścitta; Deathbed Gifts; Antyeṣṭi Procedures; Nārāyaṇa-bali for Untimely Deaths
प्रायश्चित्ते त्वागता ये तेभ्यो दद्यान्नरो दश / ततो यमद्वारपथे पूयशोणितसंकुले
prāyaścitte tvāgatā ye tebhyo dadyānnaro daśa / tato yamadvārapathe pūyaśoṇitasaṃkule
To those who have come seeking expiation, one should give ten offerings. Thereafter, on the road leading to Yama’s gate, there is a path crowded with pus and blood.
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: Dāna and prāyaścitta mitigate suffering on the post-mortem journey; neglect leads to dreadful experiences shaped by pāpa.
Vedantic Theme: Karma-phala inevitability; ethical causality extending beyond death; urgency of purification before the body falls.
Application: Make amends promptly (apology, restitution, charity); support those engaged in expiation/rehabilitation; treat ethical repair as time-sensitive.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: path/threshold
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Preta-kalpa: Yamadūta encounter, Yamamārga hardships, and the role of dāna/prāyaścitta in easing passage; Garuda Purana: descriptions of foul rivers/paths (pus, blood, filth) as karmic landscapes
FAQs
This verse links expiation with giving (dāna): offering a prescribed amount to those connected with rites of atonement is presented as a supportive act before facing the post-death journey.
It introduces the Yamadvāra-patha—the route toward Yama’s gate—as a harsh, impure terrain, emphasizing the fearful character of the after-death passage described in the Preta Kanda.
Practice ethical living and, when undertaking expiatory rites, include sincere charity/dāna—supporting ritual specialists or the needy—as a concrete expression of repentance and responsibility.