Shloka 103

Jñāna-hetu-nirūpaṇa

On the Causes/Means of Knowledge

Devanagari script

तस्माच्छतगुणैर्हीनः पादमानसुरो महान् / नेत्रेन्द्रियाभिमानी तु तस्माच्छतगुणो वरः

Transliteration

tasmācchataguṇairhīnaḥ pādamānasuro mahān / netrendriyābhimānī tu tasmācchataguṇo varaḥ

Translation

इसलिए पादों का अधिष्ठाता महान् असुर पूर्व तत्त्व से सौ गुणा हीन है; पर नेत्रेन्द्रिय का अधिष्ठाता उससे सौ गुणा श्रेष्ठ कहा गया है।

Word by Word

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that
• तस्मात्: अपादान (Apādāna/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शतगुणैः: by/with hundredfold
• शतगुणैः: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: शत-गुण; पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• हीनः: devoid (of)
• हीनः: विशेषण (Adjectival predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पादमानसुरः: the pāda-mānasura (foot-being)
• पादमानसुरः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद + मानसुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: पाद-मानसुर (foot-related mānasura); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• महान्: great
• महान्: विशेषण (Adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नेत्रेन्द्रियाभिमानी: the eye-sense-identifying (entity)
• नेत्रेन्द्रियाभिमानी: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नेत्र + इन्द्रिय + अभिमानिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (बहुपद): नेत्र-इन्द्रिय-अभिमानिन् (one who identifies with the eye-sense); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विशेष/विरोधार्थक (emphatic/adversative particle)

• तस्मात्: than that/from that
• तस्मात्: अपादान (Apādāna/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शतगुणः: hundredfold
• शतगुणः: विशेषण (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: शत-गुण; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण—"hundredfold"

• वरः: superior
• वरः: विशेषण (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda/Vainateya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Taratamya (graded superiority/inferiority) among adhidaivika presiding principles of organs; discernment of subtle governance behind embodied experience.

Vedantic Theme: Adhyatma–adhidaiva correspondence; discrimination (viveka) between gross supports and subtler regulators; relative status within prakritic hierarchy.

Application: Cultivate sense-discipline and contemplative inquiry: observe that sensory function depends on subtler ‘governing’ principles, encouraging humility and inwardness rather than sense-indulgence.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.12 (context: gradation of presiding deities/manes/‘mānāsuras’ and sense-hierarchy)

Characters & Entities

• Asura
• Indriya-devata (presiding deity of the eye)

FAQs

What is the importance of indriya-abhimānī (presiding deity of a sense) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights that each sense faculty is governed by an abhimānī (presiding intelligence), and that these presiding powers are ranked in a graded cosmology relevant to understanding the subtle body.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

By presenting a hierarchy of subtle controllers (from lower presiding forces to higher indriya-deities), the text frames the soul’s embodied experience after death as operating through graded subtle faculties rather than merely the gross body.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate disciplined use of the senses—especially sight—since the Purana treats sense-governance as a higher, more refined principle; ethical restraint and mindful perception support dharmic living.