Shloka 21

Roganidāna: Definitions, Fivefold Diagnostic Method, and Doṣa-wise Causes

Devanagari script

व्यापन्नमद्यपानीयशुष्कशाकाममूलकैः / पिण्याकमृत्यवसरपूतिशुष्ककृशमिषैः

Transliteration

vyāpannamadyapānīyaśuṣkaśākāmamūlakaiḥ / piṇyākamṛtyavasarapūtiśuṣkakṛśamiṣaiḥ

Translation

彼らは腐った酒と悪臭の水、乾いた野菜と生の根、そして油粕によってのみ生きることを強いられる。さらに死の時には、臭く乾き、わずかで痩せた肉片の残滓を無理やり食べさせられる。

Word by Word

• vyāpanna: spoiled/tainted (with)
• vyāpanna: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyāpanna (कृदन्त; √pad/पद् + vi-ā- उपसर्ग; भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया (करणे/सह), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘व्यापन्न’ = spoiled/tainted

• madya: liquor/intoxicants
• madya: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन (समाहारार्थे; ‘मद्य’ = intoxicant)

• pānīya: drinks/water
• pānīya: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pānīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘पानीय’ = drinkable water/beverage

• śuṣka: dry
• śuṣka: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuṣka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• śāka: vegetables/greens
• śāka: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘शाक’ = vegetables/greens

• āma: raw/undigested
• āma: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् ‘आम’ = raw/undigested

• mūlaka: radishes/root-vegetables
• mūlaka: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūlaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘मूलक’ = radish/root-vegetable

• piṇyāka: oil-cake residue
• piṇyāka: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṇyāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘पिण्याक’ = oil-cake/sesame-cake residue

• mṛtyu-avasara: death-time/critical occasion
• mṛtyu-avasara: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक) + avasara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘मृत्योः अवसरः’ = time/occasion of death

• pūti: putrid/foul
• pūti: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् ‘पूति’ = putrid/foul

• śuṣka: dry
• śuṣka: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuṣka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• kṛśa: lean/emaciated
• kṛśa: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् ‘कृश’ = lean/emaciated

• miṣa: meat
• miṣa: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: miṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘मिष’ = meat/flesh

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vainateya)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Naraka

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Karmic retribution manifests as enforced consumption of impure, revolting substances; the senses become instruments of punishment.

Vedantic Theme: Adharma binds the jiva to painful experience; sense-objects become sources of duhkha under karma.

Application: Cultivate purity in diet and conduct; avoid intoxicants and cruelty; practice restraint and sattvic living to reduce papa.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: descriptions of naraka torments via foul food/drink (general motif); Garuda Purana: Yama’s punishments corresponding to specific sins (general schema)

FAQs

What is the importance of karmic retribution through food in the Garuda Purana?

This verse depicts punishment as forced consumption of impure, spoiled substances—showing that violations of dharma can ripen into corresponding experiences of disgust, deprivation, and loss of dignity after death.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

Within the Preta Kanda’s after-death narrative, the departed (preta) undergoes experiences shaped by karma; here, suffering is portrayed through the kind of ‘food’ one is compelled to take, reflecting one’s moral and ritual impurities.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Maintain purity in livelihood and consumption—avoid intoxication, harmful indulgence, and unethical conduct—since the text frames such choices as leaving deep karmic impressions that can manifest as suffering beyond death.