Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 6
The Preta’s Staged Journey to Yama’s City: Monthly Śrāddha Supports, Vaitaraṇī Crossing, and the Witnesses of Deeds
भृत्यमित्राणि चान्यच्च सर्वं शोचति वै तदा / क्षुधार्तस्य पुरे तस्मिन्किङ्करैस्तस्य चोच्यते
bhṛtyamitrāṇi cānyacca sarvaṃ śocati vai tadā / kṣudhārtasya pure tasminkiṅkaraistasya cocyate
そののち飢えに苦しみ、彼はすべてを嘆く――召使いも友も、ほかの一切も。かの都にて、閻魔の従者たちはその飢え悩む者に語りかけ、戒め諭す。
Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: Worldly supports (friends, servants, possessions) cannot relieve the post-death condition; the jīva faces consequences beyond social identity.
Vedantic Theme: अनित्यत्व (impermanence) of saṃsāric relations; karmic causality governing experience after death.
Application: Cultivate detachment and prepare through dharma and devotion rather than relying on social/financial security.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: city
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: Yama-dūta dialogue motifs; hunger/thirst afflictions of the preta; the ‘great road’ (mahāpatha) journey sections
FAQs
This verse highlights hunger as a key torment of the departed, showing how post-death distress intensifies attachment and grief, and how Yama’s attendants confront the preta in that condition.
It depicts an intermediate phase where the being, weakened by hunger and longing, mourns worldly ties, while the messengers in Yama’s domain address him—indicating a guided but stringent post-death journey.
Reduce excessive attachment and live ethically; support appropriate śrāddha/ancestral rites as per one’s tradition, cultivating charity and remembrance to ease post-death anxieties described in the text.