Shloka 7

Hikkā-nidāna: Causes, Types, and the Grave Yamalā/Veginī Hiccup

Devanagari script

कम्पयन्ती शिरो ग्रीवां यमलां तां विनिर्दिशेत् / प्रलापच्छर्द्यतीसारनेत्रविप्लुतजृम्भिता

Transliteration

kampayantī śiro grīvāṃ yamalāṃ tāṃ vinirdiśet / pralāpacchardyatīsāranetraviplutajṛmbhitā

Translation

Uno debe identificarla como la 'Yamalā' (una aflicción nacida de Yama): hace temblar la cabeza y el cuello, y está marcada por delirios, vómitos, diarrea, ojos en blanco o vueltos hacia arriba, y bostezos repetidos.

Word by Word

• कम्पयन्ती: causing to tremble
• कम्पयन्ती: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √कम्प् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (शतृ-प्रत्यय/वर्तमानकृदन्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी-प्रयोग; ‘कम्पयति’ इत्यस्य वर्तमान-कर्तरि

• शिरः: the head
• शिरः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (रूपं शिरः)

• ग्रीवाम्: the neck
• ग्रीवाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रीवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यमलाम्: the ‘Yamalā’ (type/name)
• यमलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यमला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ताम्: that (one)
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• विनिर्दिशेत्: one should indicate/diagnose
• विनिर्दिशेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि+नि+√दिश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• प्रलाप-छर्दि-अतीसार-नेत्र-विप्लुत-जृम्भिता: with delirious talk, vomiting, diarrhea, eye-disorder, and yawning
• प्रलाप-छर्दि-अतीसार-नेत्र-विप्लुत-जृम्भिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रलाप (प्रातिपदिक) + छर्दि (प्रातिपदिक) + अतीसार (प्रातिपदिक) + नेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + विप्लुत (वि+√प्लु, धातु; क्त-कृदन्त) + जृम्भिता (√जृम्भ्, धातु; क्त-कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (लक्षणसमाहारः)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue, instructing Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Right knowledge (yathā-lakṣaṇa) begins with accurate identification of signs; naming the condition guides response and care.

Vedantic Theme: Vyādhi as duḥkha-hetu (suffering-source) that prompts discernment and detachment from bodily identification.

Application: Use the listed markers (head/neck tremor, delirium, vomiting, diarrhoea, ocular disturbance, repeated yawning) to recognize a severe state requiring immediate intervention.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.151.6 (digestion-linked course); Garuda Purana 1.151.8-9 (names and severe impairment)

Characters & Entities

• Yama

FAQs

What is the importance of Yamalā in the Garuda Purana?

This verse treats Yamalā as a Yama-associated condition recognized through specific physical signs, used to identify an approaching end-of-life state in the Preta Kanda context.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

By describing recognizable dying symptoms, it frames the transition point when the embodied person nears death—an important threshold in the Garuda Purana’s after-death narrative leading into the preta (post-mortem) journey.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

It encourages mindful recognition of serious end-of-life signs so families can focus on calmness, prayer, and timely performance of appropriate last rites and ethical remembrance rather than panic.