Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 16
Dāna for the Preta: Supreme Gifts, Yama’s Pacification, and Viṣṇu-Smaraṇa at the Time of Death
हेमदानात्सुखं स्वर्गे भूमिदानान्नृपो भवेत् / हेमभूमिप्रदानाच्च न पीडा नरके भवेत्
hemadānātsukhaṃ svarge bhūmidānānnṛpo bhavet / hemabhūmipradānācca na pīḍā narake bhavet
黄金を施せば天界で安楽を得、土地を施せば王となる。さらに黄金と土地の両方を与えるなら、地獄において苦痛を受けない。
Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Svarga
Concept: Merit accrues proportionate to the value and social impact of gifts; combined dānas intensify protective merit against naraka-duḥkha.
Vedantic Theme: Karma yields finite results (svarga/rajya) yet can function as preparatory purification; highlights the mechanics of phala rather than ultimate liberation.
Application: Support wealth-redistribution and land-related welfare (housing, farmland, community assets) ethically; give without exploitation; combine material support with moral restraint.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: heaven/hell (implied)
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.30: dāna-phala catalogue culminating toward devotion (2.30.18)
FAQs
This verse states that donating gold brings heavenly happiness, donating land brings royal status, and donating both is said to prevent torment in hell—showing dana as a powerful source of punya affecting post-death outcomes.
It links ethical action (charitable giving) to the soul’s experiences after death—comfort in svarga and avoidance of suffering in naraka—reflecting the Garuda Purana’s karma-based mapping of post-mortem states.
Practice purposeful charity—supporting sustenance and stability (symbolized by gold/wealth and land/resources)—as a dharmic discipline that cultivates merit and reduces harmful karmic consequences.