Shloka 16

Maṅgalācaraṇa, the Sages’ Inquiry, and Hari as Supreme with an Avatāra-Outline

Devanagari script

तृतीयमृषिसर्गं तु देवर्षित्वमुपेत्य सः / तन्त्रं सात्वतमाचष्टे नैष्कर्म्यं कर्मणां यतः

Transliteration

tṛtīyamṛṣisargaṃ tu devarṣitvamupetya saḥ / tantraṃ sātvatamācaṣṭe naiṣkarmyaṃ karmaṇāṃ yataḥ

Translation

次いで第三の創造、すなわち聖仙（ṛṣi）の創造において、彼は天仙（devarṣi）の位に至り、『サートヴァタ・タントラ』を説き明かした。これにより、諸行のただ中にあってもナイシュカルミヤ（無業・無執着の境地）が成就される。

Word by Word

• तृतीयम्: third
• तृतीयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृतीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषण (ordinal)

• ऋषिसर्गम्: the creation/emanation of sages
• ऋषिसर्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ऋषीणां सर्गः)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• देवर्षित्वम्: the state of being a divine sage
• देवर्षित्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक) + त्व (तद्धित-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तद्धितान्त भाववाचक (त्व); तत्पुरुष (देवर्षेः भावः)

• उपेत्य: having attained
• उपेत्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-इ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund); उपसर्ग: उप; अर्थ: having attained

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तन्त्रम्: treatise/system
• तन्त्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सात्वतम्: Sātvata (pertaining to Sātvatas/Vaiṣṇava)
• सात्वतम्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सात्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (तन्त्रस्य)

• आचष्टे: declares/teaches
• आचष्टे: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-चक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• नैष्कर्म्यम्: freedom from action (non-action)
• नैष्कर्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निः (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + य (तद्धित/प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भाववाचक (state of non-action/inaction)

• कर्मणाम्: of actions
• कर्मणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• यतः: because/from which
• यतः: Hetu (Cause marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्ययीभाव/सम्बन्धबोधक (causal-relative adverb)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (to Garuda/Vainateya), in the introductory narration

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Naiṣkarmya—freedom from binding agency while actions continue, attained through Sātvata Tantra (bhakti-yoga/pañcarātra orientation).

Vedantic Theme: Karma performed without ahaṅkāra and phala-āśā; inner renunciation leading toward jīvanmukti-like steadiness.

Application: Perform duties as worship (īśvara-arpana), cultivate non-attachment to results, and stabilize the witness-attitude through disciplined sādhana.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana (general): mokṣa-dharma and Viṣṇu-bhakti passages where niṣkāma-karma and nāma-smaraṇa are praised (sectional parallels vary by recension)

Characters & Entities

• Rishis
• Devarshis
• Sātvata (Pāñcarātra/Vaiṣṇava Tantra)

FAQs

What is the importance of the Sātvata Tantra in the Garuda Purana?

This verse frames the Sātvata (Vaiṣṇava/Pāñcarātra) teaching as a means to transcend karmic bondage—guiding a practitioner to act without accruing binding karma (naiṣkarmya).

How does this verse explain liberation while living an active life?

It points to naiṣkarmya: not the absence of work, but the absence of karmic attachment and binding results—achieved through a disciplined spiritual doctrine (tantra) aligned with devotion and right knowledge.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Perform duties responsibly while reducing ego and attachment to outcomes; anchor actions in devotion, ethical restraint, and steady practice so work becomes purifying rather than binding.