Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 13

Śravaṇa-Mahātmya: The Śravaṇas, Cosmic Testimony, and the Paths of the Puruṣārthas

Devanagari script

गृहीत्वा पुष्पपत्राणि सोसृजद्द्वादशात्मजान् / तेजोराशीन्विशालाक्षान्ब्रह्मणो वचनात्तु ते

Transliteration

gṛhītvā puṣpapatrāṇi sosṛjaddvādaśātmajān / tejorāśīnviśālākṣānbrahmaṇo vacanāttu te

Translation

花の花弁と葉を手に取り、彼はただちに十二人の子を創り出した――広き眼をもつ偉大なる者たち、光輝の塊より成る存在――それは梵天ブラフマーの御言葉に従ってである。

Word by Word

• गृहीत्वा: having taken
• गृहीत्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/अनुक्रम)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action)

• पुष्पपत्राणि: flowers and leaves
• पुष्पपत्राणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्प (प्रातिपदिक) + पत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (flowers and leaves)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• असृजत्: created/emitted
• असृजत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृज् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• द्वादशात्मजान्: twelve sons/offspring
• द्वादशात्मजान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (आत्मनः जाताः = sons/offspring) with numeral qualifier

• तेजोराशीन्: masses of radiance
• तेजोराशीन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक) + राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (तेजसः राशयः)

• विशालाक्षान्: large-eyed
• विशालाक्षान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विशाल (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि (विशालानि अक्षीणि येषां ते)

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• वचनात्: from the command/word
• वचनात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थ

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic order operates through delegated beings created by divine command.

Vedantic Theme: Īśvara-sṛṣṭi and niyati: the world’s governance proceeds through appointed instruments within māyā.

Application: Cultivate accountability: actions occur within an ordered cosmos where oversight is structurally embedded.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: cosmic locus

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: accounts of Yamadūtas/recorders and karmic reporting (general parallel)

Characters & Entities

• Brahma

FAQs

What is the importance of Brahmā’s command in this verse of the Garuda Purana?

It highlights that creation unfolds through divine ordinance (vacana), indicating an ordered cosmic process rather than randomness.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul in the Garuda Purana context?

Indirectly, it frames the afterlife teachings within a larger cosmology—showing that beings and realms described later are part of a divinely structured universe.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate reverence for cosmic order (dharma): act responsibly, recognizing that life and its consequences operate within an intelligible moral and spiritual framework.