Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 36
Akalamṛtyu-kāraṇa and Bāla Antyeṣṭi: Age-graded Funeral Rites, Śrāddha Types, and Sonship Duties
कुर्वन्त्यन्ये सुताः श्राद्धमे कोद्दिष्टं न पार्वणम् / ब्राह्मोढाजस्तून्नयति संगृहीतस्त्वधो नयेत् / श्राद्धं सांवत्सरं कुर्वञ्जायते नरकाय वै
kurvantyanye sutāḥ śrāddhame koddiṣṭaṃ na pārvaṇam / brāhmoḍhājastūnnayati saṃgṛhītastvadho nayet / śrāddhaṃ sāṃvatsaraṃ kurvañjāyate narakāya vai
કેટલાક પુત્રો માત્ર એકોદ્દિષ્ટ શ્રાદ્ધ કરે છે, પાર્વણ નથી કરતા. બ્રાહ્મણ ખોટી રીતે પસંદ થાય તો તે કર્મને ઊંચે લઈ જાય છે; પરંતુ જે ‘સંગ્રહીત’ (અયોગ્ય/અશુદ્ધ) હોય તે તેને નીચે ખેંચે છે. અને જે વર્ષમાં માત્ર એકવાર શ્રાદ્ધ કરે છે તે નિશ્ચયે નરકયોગ્ય બને છે.
Lord Vishnu (in dialogue instruction to Garuda/Vainateya)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Ritual Type: Ekoddishta
Beneficiary: Pitr
Timing: Annual-only performance criticized; proper schedule implied beyond once-yearly tokenism
Concept: Ritual action bears precise results: incomplete śrāddha (only ekoddiṣṭa), wrong officiant, or mere annual tokenism produces adverse karma and naraka-gati.
Vedantic Theme: Karma’s exactitude (yathā-kriyā tathā-phala) and the necessity of śuddhi/adhikāra; ritual as a disciplined means within pravṛtti-mārga.
Application: Learn the difference between ekoddiṣṭa and pārvaṇa; choose qualified priests; avoid reducing ancestral rites to minimal formalities.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: ritual space
Related Themes: Garuda Purana passages on narakas for neglect of śrāddha and on brāhmaṇa-eligibility in rites (general)
FAQs
This verse warns that doing only ekoddiṣṭa śrāddha while neglecting pārvaṇa śrāddha is considered a serious deficiency in pitṛ-kārya, leading to negative post-death consequences.
It states that an improperly chosen or confused officiant can distort the rite’s outcome: a fit Brahmin ‘raises’ the merit, while an unfit/tainted one causes the rite to ‘fall’—implying loss of benefit and adverse results.
Perform śrāddha with correct procedure (including the appropriate type, not merely annual formality) and engage a qualified, ritually fit priest—treating ancestral duties as dharma rather than a minimal obligation.