Shloka 7

Karma, Varṇa-Dharma, and Dāna as the Soul’s True Companion on the Path to Yama

Devanagari script

यः क्षत्त्रियो बाहुबलेन संयुगे ललाटदेशाद्रुधिरं मुखे पपौ / तत्सोमपानं हि कृतं महामखे जीवन्मृतः सो ऽपि हि याति मुक्तिक्

Transliteration

yaḥ kṣattriyo bāhubalena saṃyuge lalāṭadeśādrudhiraṃ mukhe papau / tatsomapānaṃ hi kṛtaṃ mahāmakhe jīvanmṛtaḥ so 'pi hi yāti muktik

Translation

戦場において腕力により、敵の額のあたりから流れる血を口に受けて飲むクシャトリヤ—それは大いなる祭祀におけるソーマ飲用と見なされる。たとえ「生ける屍」（霊的に堕した者）であっても、彼もまた解脱に至る。

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kṣattriyaḥ: a Kṣatriya
• kṣattriyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣattriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bāhu-balena: by the strength of (his) arms
• bāhu-balena: Karana (करण/instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāhu (प्रातिपदिक) + bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• saṃyuge: in battle
• saṃyuge: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃyuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• lalāṭa-deśāt: from the forehead region
• lalāṭa-deśāt: Apadana (अपादान/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lalāṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• rudhiram: blood
• rudhiram: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudhira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mukhe: in the mouth
• mukhe: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• papau: drank
• papau: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tat-soma-pānam: that (act is) soma-drinking
• tat-soma-pānam: Karma (कर्म/predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (प्रातिपदिक) + soma (प्रातिपदिक) + pāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समासः (‘that’ + ‘soma-drinking’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• kṛtam: done/considered
• kṛtam: Kriya (क्रिया/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mahā-makhe: in a great sacrifice
• mahā-makhe: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + makha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयः; पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• jīvan-mṛtaḥ: living-dead (as good as dead)
• jīvan-mṛtaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jīvat (प्रातिपदिक) + mṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘alive yet dead’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (also/even)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• yāti: goes/attains
• yāti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• muktim: liberation
• muktim: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (text has muktik = muktim)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: For a kṣatriya, extreme battlefield act is equated (by this verse) with Soma-drinking in a mahāyajña; even one spiritually ‘dead while living’ may attain liberation through such dharma-coded valor.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-yoga/niyata-dharma as purifier when performed without ignoble motive; transformation of action into yajña; tension between external act and inner purity resolved by dharma-framing.

Application: Interpret as emphasizing steadfastness in one’s righteous duty and willingness to sacrifice; in modern terms, courageous protection of others and integrity under danger, not literal violence.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: vira

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Geographic Context

Type: battlefield

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: sections praising varṇa-dharma and the salvific power of duty performed at life’s edge; Garuda Purana: mokṣa through Viṣṇu-smaraṇa and through dharmic conduct—this verse offers a kṣatriya-coded route

Characters & Entities

• Kshatriya
• Soma

FAQs

What is the importance of Soma-pāna symbolism in this Garuda Purana verse?

The verse frames a fierce battlefield act as symbolically equivalent to Soma-drinking in a great sacrifice, emphasizing how Kshatriya duty performed in combat can be interpreted as carrying sacrificial merit.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul toward liberation?

It teaches that even someone described as ‘jīvan-mṛta’ (spiritually fallen or inert) may attain moksha through a powerful, duty-aligned act understood as highly meritorious within the text’s sacrificial framework.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Read it as a dharma-based principle: sincere fulfillment of one’s rightful duty with courage and discipline is treated as spiritually weighty—encouraging ethical conduct, responsibility, and inner steadiness rather than literal imitation.