Shloka 12

Karma-vipāka: Truth, Yama’s Judgment, and the Marks of Sin in Rebirth

Devanagari script

गद्गदो ऽनतवादी स्यान्मूकश्चैव गवानृते / ब्रह्महा जायते कुष्ठी श्यावदन्तश्च मद्यपः

Transliteration

gadgado 'natavādī syānmūkaścaiva gavānṛte / brahmahā jāyate kuṣṭhī śyāvadantaśca madyapaḥ

Translation

One who speaks with disrespect becomes stammering, and one who lies about a cow becomes mute. A slayer of a brāhmaṇa is born afflicted with leprosy, and a drinker of intoxicants is born with darkened teeth.

Word by Word

• gadgadaḥ: stammering
• gadgadaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gadgada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (one who stammers)

• anata-vādī: one who speaks without bowing (disrespectful speaker)
• anata-vādī: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anata (प्रातिपदिक) + vādin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘unbowed’ + ‘speaker’)

• syāt: would become
• syāt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mūkaḥ: mute
• mūkaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• go-anṛte: in (the sin of) lying about a cow
• go-anṛte: Hetu/Nimitta (हेतु/निमित्त)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + anṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘cow’ + ‘falsehood’), ‘in lying about a cow’

• brahma-hā: a Brahmin-killer
• brahma-hā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + han (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (‘brahman’ + ‘killer’)

• jāyate: is born/becomes
• jāyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• kuṣṭhī: a leper
• kuṣṭhī: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṣṭhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘leper’

• śyāva-dantaḥ: dark-toothed
• śyāva-dantaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śyāva (प्रातिपदिक) + danta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (‘having dark teeth’)

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• madya-paḥ: a wine-drinker
• madya-paḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madya (प्रातिपदिक) + pā (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (‘wine’ + ‘drinker’)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Specific pāpas yield specific embodied results: disrespectful speech → stammering; cow-related falsehood → muteness; brahmahatyā → leprosy; intoxication → darkened teeth.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-phala as niyati-like regularity within saṃsāra; speech-ethics (vāk) and purity as spiritual determinants of embodiment.

Application: Practice truthful, respectful speech; avoid harming the innocent and avoid intoxicants; undertake prāyaścitta and cultivate sattva to prevent harmful tendencies.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: didactic enumeration of rebirth-results

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: lists of sins and corresponding narakas/marks; adjacent verses on pāpa-cihnas.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmaha (killer of a brāhmaṇa)
• Gau (cow)
• Madyapa (drunkard)

FAQs

What is the importance of linking specific sins to specific bodily results in the Garuda Purana?

This verse teaches a concrete karmic causality: particular unethical acts (falsehood, disrespect, grave violence, intoxication) manifest as identifiable impairments in later birth, reinforcing dharma through clear moral consequences.

How does this verse relate to the Garuda Purana’s broader account of post-death judgment?

In the Preta Kanda, Vishnu explains to Garuda how deeds are tallied and yield fruits; this verse is part of that mapping of actions to outcomes, complementing descriptions of Yama’s judgment and the soul’s experience after death.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Practice truthful speech (especially in matters affecting others’ livelihood), maintain respectful communication, avoid intoxicants, and uphold non-violence and reverence toward brāhmaṇas and sacred social duties—actions presented here as preventing heavy karmic repercussions.