Shloka 77

Jvara-Nidāna-Lakṣaṇa: Causes, Doṣic Types, Āma/Nirāma Stages, and Prognosis of Fever

Devanagari script

प्रलिम्पन्निव गात्राणि श्लेष्मणा गौरवेण च / मन्दज्वरप्रलापस्तु सशीतः स्यात्प्रलेपकः

Transliteration

pralimpanniva gātrāṇi śleṣmaṇā gauraveṇa ca / mandajvarapralāpastu saśītaḥ syātpralepakaḥ

Translation

જ્યારે અંગો પર જાણે લેપ ચઢ્યો હોય તેમ લાગે, શ્લેષ્મા (કફ)ના કારણે ભારપણું થાય, અને મંદ જ્વરથી શીત સાથે પ્રલાપવાણી થાય—તે સ્થિતિને ‘પ્રલેપક’ કહે છે।

Word by Word

• प्रलिम्पन्: smearing / as if smeared
• प्रलिम्पन्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√lip (धातु) → pralimpant (कृदन्त, शतृ)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचन (विशेषणरूपेण) — Present active participle (śatṛ), masculine nominative singular (used adjectivally)

• इव: as if
• इव: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय — indeclinable of comparison

• गात्राणि: limbs
• गात्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन — neuter, nominative plural

• श्लेष्मणा: by phlegm
• श्लेष्मणा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śleṣman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — neuter, instrumental singular

• गौरवेण: by heaviness
• गौरवेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaurava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — neuter, instrumental singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय — coordinating conjunction

• मन्दज्वरप्रलापः: delirium of mild fever
• मन्दज्वरप्रलापः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manda (प्रातिपदिक) + jvara (प्रातिपदिक) + pralāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — masculine, nominative singular; समासः: (मन्दः ज्वरः) इति कर्मधारय-तत्पुरुषः, ततः (मन्दज्वरस्य प्रलापः) इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः — tatpuruṣa compound

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषण-अव्यय — particle (but/indeed)

• सशीतः: with chills/cold
• सशीतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa- (उपसर्ग/सह) + śīta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — masculine, nominative singular; समासः: सह शीतम्/शीतः इति ‘स’ उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (सहितार्थ) — with cold

• स्यात्: would be / is said to be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — optative, 3rd person singular

• प्रलेपकः: (a fever type) Pralepaka
• प्रलेपकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pralepaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — masculine, nominative singular

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Medical Ayurveda

Dosha: Kapha

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Roga-lakshana-nirnaya (diagnosis by signs): identifying a fever subtype through observable symptoms.

Vedantic Theme: Deha as vyadhi-ashraya (the body as a locus of change); cultivating viveka through accurate knowledge of phenomena.

Application: Use symptom-clusters (phlegm-heaviness, coated feeling, mild fever with chills, delirious speech) to distinguish pralepaka from other jvara types and seek timely care.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.147 (jvara-bheda/lakshana section; adjacent verses 1.147.78–81)

FAQs

What is the importance of pralepaka in the Garuda Purana?

This verse defines pralepaka as a recognizable bodily-mental condition—heaviness from phlegm with mild fever, chills, and delirious speech—used in the text’s catalog of serious signs that indicate bodily decline and the approach of death-related transitions.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by describing a terminal-like state (pralepaka), it frames the moment when the embodied condition deteriorates, which in the Garuda Purana narrative precedes the soul’s separation from the body and the subsequent after-death journey described elsewhere in the Preta Kanda.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat it as a prompt for timely care and preparedness: seek medical attention for such symptoms, and—if decline is evident—support the person with calm surroundings, remembrance practices, and orderly planning for rites according to one’s tradition.