Shloka 36

Jñāna-hetu-nirūpaṇa

On the Causes/Means of Knowledge

Devanagari script

अस्पष्टपरूपा न्यूनता ह्यस्ति वायौ तथा ज्ञानं नैव संचिन्तनीयम् / एतादृशी ज्ञानशक्तिर्मुरारेर्वाय्वादीनां मोक्षपर्यन्तमस्ति

Transliteration

aspaṣṭaparūpā nyūnatā hyasti vāyau tathā jñānaṃ naiva saṃcintanīyam / etādṛśī jñānaśaktirmurārervāyvādīnāṃ mokṣaparyantamasti

Translation

Dans le cas de Vāyu (le principe du vent), il y a une déficience—sa forme est indistincte—et c’est pourquoi sa connaissance ne peut être pleinement saisie par la seule pensée. Telle est la gradation de la puissance de connaissance du Seigneur Murāri dans les êtres, depuis Vāyu et ainsi de suite, jusqu’à l’obtention de la délivrance.

Word by Word

• अस्पष्ट-पर-ऊपा: having an unclear/indistinct form
• अस्पष्ट-पर-ऊपा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अस्पष्ट (प्रातिपदिक) + पर (प्रातिपदिक) + ऊपा/रूपा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); विशेषण—न्यूनता इत्यस्य

• न्यूनता: deficiency, inferiority
• न्यूनता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: न्यूनता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• हि: indeed, for
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात)

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• वायौ: in/with respect to Vāyu (wind-deity)
• वायौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• तथा: likewise, also
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• ज्ञानम्: knowledge
• ज्ञानम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध-निपात)

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (अवधारण-निपात)

• संचिन्तनीयम्: to be contemplated/considered
• संचिन्तनीयम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + चिन्त् (धातु)
• Form: Gerundive/necessitative (तव्यत्/अनीयर्-अर्थ), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); विधेय-विशेषण—ज्ञानम् इत्यस्य

• एतादृशी: such, of this kind
• एतादृशी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतादृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); विशेषण—ज्ञानशक्तिः इत्यस्य

• ज्ञान-शक्तिः: power of knowledge
• ज्ञान-शक्तिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक) + शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• मुरारेः: of Murāri (Viṣṇu)
• मुरारेः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुरारि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• वायु-आदीनाम्: of Vāyu and others
• वायु-आदीनाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायु (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• मोक्ष-पर्यन्तम्: up to liberation
• मोक्ष-पर्यन्तम्: Desha/Avadhi (अवधि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्यन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva used adverbially; accusative-form functioning as indeclinable meaning 'up to'

• अस्ति: exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (Murāri) speaking to Garuda (Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: There is a gradation (tāratamya) of jñāna-śakti in beings; Vāyu’s indistinctness marks limited knowability; Murāri’s knowledge-power extends through levels up to mokṣa.

Vedantic Theme: Hierarchy of manifestation and epistemic capacity; the Lord as the ultimate source of all powers; liberation as the apex of clarified knowledge.

Application: Recognize limits of purely conceptual thought; pursue practices that refine the instrument of knowledge (mind/character) and orient it toward the Lord for culminating clarity.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.12.35 (illumination analogy); Garuda Purana 3.12.37 (moksha-time knowledge; pralaya context)

Characters & Entities

• Vayu
• Vishnu (Murari)
• Moksha

FAQs

What is the importance of jñāna-śakti (power of knowledge) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights that cognition varies by the level of being/tattva; jñāna-śakti is a divine endowment that appears in graded form from cosmic principles like Vāyu up to the state culminating in mokṣa.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul toward moksha?

It implies that liberation requires moving beyond limited, indistinct modes of knowing (where knowledge is not fully thinkable) toward clearer, higher realization—ultimately the perfected knowledge that culminates in mokṣa.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Recognize the limits of mere mental speculation; combine disciplined inquiry with spiritual practice (dharma, meditation, devotion) to refine understanding toward liberating knowledge.