Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 1

Praise of Vṛṣotsarga (Bull-release), Worthy Dāna, and the Procedure for Kṣayāha & Ūrdhva-daihika Rites

Devanagari script

वृषोत्सर्गदानधर्मपुत्रादिप्रशंसनं नाम त्रयोदशो ऽध्यायः गरुड उवाच / आर्तेन म्रियमाणेन यद्दत्तं तत्फलं वद / स्वस्थावस्थेन दत्तेन विधिहीनेन वा विभो

Transliteration

vṛṣotsargadānadharmaputrādipraśaṃsanaṃ nāma trayodaśo 'dhyāyaḥ garuḍa uvāca / ārtena mriyamāṇena yaddattaṃ tatphalaṃ vada / svasthāvasthena dattena vidhihīnena vā vibho

Translation

これは第十三章、「牡牛を放つ施し（vṛṣotsarga）とダルマ、ならびに孝行なる子ら等の功徳を讃える章」と名づけられる。ガルダは言った。「おお主よ、苦しみつつ臨終にある者が施す布施の果報、また健やかな時に施す布施の果報をお説きください。たとえ正しい儀軌を欠いていても、尊き御方よ。」

Word by Word

• vṛṣotsargadānadharmaputrādipraśaṃsanam: praise of bull-release, gifts, Dharma’s son, etc.
• vṛṣotsargadānadharmaputrādipraśaṃsanam: Karta (Title/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + utsarga (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + putra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + praśaṃsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (वृषोत्सर्गस्य दानस्य धर्मपुत्रादेः प्रशंसनम् इति)

• nāma: named
• nāma: Sambandha (Naming)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोग (quotative/label: 'named/called')

• trayodaśaḥ: thirteenth
• trayodaśaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of adhyāyaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trayodaśa (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (thirteenth)

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (Subject: chapter)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• garuḍaḥ: Garuḍa
• garuḍaḥ: Karta (Speaker)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garuḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Speech act)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ārtena: by an afflicted person
• ārtena: Karta (Agent of giving)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ārta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (by one afflicted/distressed)

• mriyamāṇena: by one who is dying
• mriyamāṇena: Karta (Agent of giving)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛ (धातु) → mriyamāṇa (कृदन्त, शतृ/वर्तमानकाले)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle: 'dying')

• yat: whatever
• yat: Karma (Object of 'given')
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• dattam: given
• dattam: Karma (Given thing)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dā (धातु) → datta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (PPP: 'given')

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Determiner of phalam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तद्-प्रत्यय (correlative)

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karma (Object of vada)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vada: tell
• vada: Kriya (Imperative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• svastha-avasthena: in a healthy condition
• svastha-avasthena: Karta (Agent circumstance: in healthy state)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svastha (प्रातिपदिक) + avasthā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (svasthāyāṃ avasthāyām)

• dattena: by a gift given
• dattena: Karana (Instrumental circumstance)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dā (धातु) → datta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (PPP: 'by/with what is given')

• vidhi-hīnena: without proper procedure
• vidhi-hīnena: Karana (Manner: without proper rite)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक) + hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (vidhinā hīnaḥ)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Alternative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्प (or)

• vibho: O Lord
• vibho: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Garuda (Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Merit of dāna varies by giver’s condition (healthy/sick/dying) and by adherence to vidhi; inquiry frames the hierarchy of intention, capacity, and ritual purity.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-yoga orientation: intention (bhāva), timing, and right means (vidhi) shape karmaphala; dharma as support for purification (citta-śuddhi).

Application: Give regularly while healthy; learn basic dāna-vidhi; when emergencies arise, still give with sincerity, but do not neglect proper procedure when possible.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.14 (chapter on vṛṣotsarga, dāna, dharma-putra praise); Garuda Purana: śrāddha and dāna sections that grade gifts by time, place, recipient, and faith

Characters & Entities

• Garuda

FAQs

What is the importance of dāna (charity) at the time of death in the Garuda Purana?

This verse frames a key inquiry: even gifts made while dying or distressed have a spiritual “fruit” (phala), so the text treats end-of-life charity as a meaningful karmic act worth understanding precisely.

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

Indirectly: by asking about the merit of last-moment giving, it signals that actions near death influence post-death outcomes, a central theme of the Preta Kanda’s discussion of rites, merit, and the soul’s transitional state.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Give charity intentionally—both in health and in crisis—and focus on sincere, dharmic giving; even if perfect ritual details are missing, the Garuda Purana treats the ethical act and its karmic consequence as significant.