Shloka 51

The Preta’s Staged Journey to Yama’s City: Monthly Śrāddha Supports, Vaitaraṇī Crossing, and the Witnesses of Deeds

Devanagari script

दूराच्छ्रवणविज्ञाना दूराद्दर्शनगोचराः / एवञ्चेष्टास्तु ते ह्यष्टौ स्वर्भूपातालचारिणः

Transliteration

dūrācchravaṇavijñānā dūrāddarśanagocarāḥ / evañceṣṭāstu te hyaṣṭau svarbhūpātālacāriṇaḥ

Translation

Pueden percibir los sonidos y conocerlos aun desde lejos, y aun a distancia entran en el alcance de la vista. Tales son, en verdad, los ocho modos de su obrar: se desplazan por el cielo, la tierra y el Pātāla, el mundo subterráneo.

Word by Word

• दूरात्: from afar
• दूरात्: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverbial indeclinable; अर्थे: दूरदेशात् (from afar)

• श्रवण-विज्ञानाः: knowing by hearing
• श्रवण-विज्ञानाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रवण (प्रातिपदिक) + विज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (श्रवणस्य विज्ञानम्) = ‘having knowledge of hearing’

• दूरात्: from afar
• दूरात्: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverbial indeclinable; अर्थे: दूरदेशात्

• दर्शन-गोचराः: visible (within sight-range)
• दर्शन-गोचराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक) + गोचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दर्शनस्य गोचरः) = ‘within the range of sight’

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (Discourse connective/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb ‘thus/so’

• चेष्टाः: activities/movements
• चेष्टाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चेष्टा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) = particle ‘but/indeed’

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) = emphatic particle ‘indeed/for’

• अष्टौ: eight
• अष्टौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक (numeral)

• स्वः-भू-पाताल-चारिणः: moving in heaven, earth, and the netherworld
• स्वः-भू-पाताल-चारिणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वः (प्रातिपदिक) + भू (प्रातिपदिक) + पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + चारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (स्वः+भू+पाताल) ततः तत्पुरुषः (स्वर्भूपातालेषु चारिणः) = ‘moving in heaven, earth, and underworld’

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic administration operates through empowered agents with siddhi-like capacities, enabling oversight across the three worlds.

Vedantic Theme: Īśvara-adhīnatva: extraordinary powers function as instruments within divine order, not as independent ultimate reality.

Application: Cultivate ethical restraint knowing actions are not hidden; align conduct with dharma even when unobserved by humans.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.16 (context: description of powerful beings/agents and their modes of movement); Garuda Purana 2.17 (transition to how deeds are known in Yama’s realm)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Pretas

FAQs

What is the importance of describing such powers in the Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights the non-physical, far-reaching perception and mobility attributed to beings in the post-death (preta) condition, clarifying that the journey after death involves a subtle mode of experience beyond ordinary bodily limits.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

By stating that they roam through heaven, earth, and the underworld and perceive from afar, the verse frames the post-mortem state as a transitional, subtle journey where experience is not restricted to one location or a gross body.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

It encourages mindful living and timely performance of death-related rites (as taught in the Preta Kanda), since the departed is portrayed as consciously experiencing a subtle journey influenced by dharma and supportive rituals.