Shloka 15
The Preta’s Staged Journey to Yama’s City: Monthly Śrāddha Supports, Vaitaraṇī Crossing, and the Witnesses of Deeds
भुक्त्वा चान्नं जलं पीत्वा यद्दत्तं वान्धवैरिह / क्लिश्यमानस्ततः पाशैर्नोयते यमकिङ्करैः
bhuktvā cānnaṃ jalaṃ pītvā yaddattaṃ vāndhavairiha / kliśyamānastataḥ pāśairnoyate yamakiṅkaraiḥ
અહીં સગાંઓએ આપેલું અન્ન ખાઈ અને જળ પીીને, પછી તે ક્લેશિત થઈ પાશોથી બંધાય છે; યમના કિંકરો તેને લઈ જાય છે.
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Ritual Type: Ekoddishta
Beneficiary: Pitr
Timing: During the immediate post-death period (implied ongoing offerings by relatives)
Concept: Even aided by offerings, the jīva must face karmic adjudication; Yama’s noose symbolizes binding by one’s deeds and unresolved attachments.
Vedantic Theme: Bandha (bondage) by karma and vāsanā; necessity of inner liberation beyond ritual support.
Application: Live with integrity to avoid fear at death; combine rites with spiritual practice (bhakti/jñāna) so the mind is not ‘noosed’ by guilt and craving.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: road/checkpoint
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: Yama-kiṅkara (Yamadūta) leading the soul with pāśa; descriptions of binding and dragging in adjacent chapters
FAQs
This verse links the departed’s post-death passage with the offerings made by relatives; after receiving the offered food and water, the soul proceeds onward under Yama’s order, emphasizing the ritual duty of timely offerings.
It portrays a transition point: once the preta partakes of what relatives provide, it is bound by Yama’s pāśas (nooses) and escorted by yamakiṅkaras, indicating movement into Yama’s jurisdiction for further journey or judgment.
Perform ancestral duties conscientiously (shraddha-style remembrance, charity, and respectful offerings where culturally appropriate) and live ethically, since the verse frames death as a governed passage shaped by dharma and ritual responsibility.