Shloka 30

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

Devanagari script

स्त्रीपुंसयो प्रसङ्गेन निरुद्धे शुक्रसोणिते / समुपेतः पञ्चभूतैर्जायते पाञ्चभौतिकः

Transliteration

strīpuṃsayo prasaṅgena niruddhe śukrasoṇite / samupetaḥ pañcabhūtairjāyate pāñcabhautikaḥ

Translation

When, through the union of woman and man, the semen and blood are brought together and contained, then—endowed with the five great elements—the embodied being composed of the five elements comes into existence.

Word by Word

• स्त्री: of the woman
• स्त्री: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), द्विवचन; ‘स्त्रीपुंसयोः’ इत्यस्य पूर्वपद (genitive dual)

• पुंसयोः: of the man
• पुंसयोः: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुंस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), द्विवचन

• प्रसङ्गेन: by/through contact
• प्रसङ्गेन: करण (Instrument) / हेतु (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रसङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/हेतु-अर्थे (instrumental/causal)

• निरुद्धे: when restrained/contained
• निरुद्धे: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-रुध् (धातु) → निरुद्ध (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘शुक्रसोणिते’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• शुक्र: semen
• शुक्र: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘शुक्रसोणिते’ समासस्य पूर्वपद

• शोणिते: in semen and blood
• शोणिते: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोणित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘शुक्र-शोणित’ इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (copulative) → ‘शुक्रसोणिते’ (locative singular)

• समुपेतः: endowed/combined
• समुपेतः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-उप-इ (धातु) → समुपेत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृपद-विशेषण (agreeing with ‘पाञ्चभौतिकः’)

• पञ्च: five
• पञ्च: करण (Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-विशेषण (numeral), ‘भूतैः’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• भूतैः: with the elements
• भूतैः: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; ‘पञ्चभूतैः’ करणत्वे

• जायते: is born/arises
• जायते: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• पाञ्चभौतिकः: the five-elemental being/body
• पाञ्चभौतिकः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च-भूत (प्रातिपदिक) → पाञ्चभौतिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; पञ्चभूत-सम्बन्धी (tatpuruṣa: ‘पञ्चभूतानां विकारः/सम्बन्धी’)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The embodied being is pañcabhāutika—arising when semen and blood unite and the five elements configure into a body.

Vedantic Theme: Distinction between the material body (bhūta-saṅghāta) and the witnessing Self; prakṛti’s elemental composition.

Application: Contemplate the body as elemental and impermanent to reduce attachment; cultivate purity in procreation and prenatal care.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: womb/embryonic locus

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana garbha-śarīra/embryology passages (2.46 immediate context)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Pancha Mahabhutas

FAQs

What is the importance of the pañcabhūta (five elements) concept in Garuda Purana?

This verse states that embodied existence is fundamentally pāñcabhautika—formed through and sustained by the five elements—supporting the Purana’s wider teaching that the body is perishable and returns to the elements, while the soul’s journey continues.

How does this verse connect to Garuda Purana teachings on death and the afterlife?

By defining the body as a five-element construct arising from reproductive fluids, it prepares the doctrinal basis for later discussions: at death the gross body dissolves back into elements, and the jīva proceeds with a subtler vehicle toward Yama’s realm and post-death rites.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Seeing the body as elemental and transient encourages detachment, ethical living, and respectful observance of saṃskāras and śrāddha-related duties without confusing the impermanent body with the enduring self.