Shloka 53

Dāna as Prāyaścitta; Deathbed Gifts; Antyeṣṭi Procedures; Nārāyaṇa-bali for Untimely Deaths

Devanagari script

अहरहर्नीयमानो गामश्वं पुरुषं वृषम् / वैवस्वतो न तृप्येत सुरया त्विव दुर्मतिः

Transliteration

aharaharnīyamāno gāmaśvaṃ puruṣaṃ vṛṣam / vaivasvato na tṛpyeta surayā tviva durmatiḥ

Translation

Day after day, as cows, horses, men, and bulls are carried off, Vaivasvata (Yama) is never satisfied—like a wicked-minded person who cannot be sated even with liquor.

Word by Word

• अहरहर्: day after day
• अहरहर्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहर् (प्रातिपदिक) (पुनरुक्त-अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्त-अव्यय (reduplicated adverb), ‘day by day’

• नीयमानः: being led
• नीयमानः: Karta (Subject in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु) + यमान (कृदन्त, कर्मणि)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि-प्रयोगे वर्तमानकृदन्त (present passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘being led’

• गाम्: a cow
• गाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• अश्वम्: a horse
• अश्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• पुरुषम्: a man/person
• पुरुषम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• वृषम्: a bull
• वृषम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• वैवस्वतः: Vaivasvata (Yama)
• वैवस्वतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैवस्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; यमस्य नाम

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negator/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation)

• तृप्येत: would be satisfied
• तृप्येत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधि), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• सुरया: with liquor
• सुरया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), contrast/emphasis

• इव: like/as if
• इव: Sambandha (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• दुर्मतिः: an evil-minded person
• दुर्मतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्मति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—दुष्टा मतिः (evil-minded)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue with Garuda)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Death is inexorable and continuous; Yama’s function is unceasing—serving as a warning against heedlessness and adharma.

Vedantic Theme: Saṁsāra-cakra and mṛtyu-satya (truth of death) prompting vairāgya (dispassion).

Application: Cultivate urgency in dharma and remembrance of death; avoid intoxication-like delusion (pramāda) that makes one ignore consequences.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa themes: Yama’s governance and the steady arrival of jīvas

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Vaivasvata

FAQs

What is the importance of Yama (Vaivasvata) in Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights Yama as the cosmic regulator of death: beings are taken daily without exception, emphasizing the inevitability of mortality under dharma.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

By stressing the constant “taking away” of living beings, it frames death as a universal transition overseen by Yama, setting the narrative ground for the preta’s onward journey and karmic accounting.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with urgency and ethics: remembering death’s certainty encourages restraint, charity, truthfulness, and timely performance of duty and ancestral rites.