Shloka 10

Mukti-tattva Upadeśa: Knowledge as the Direct Cause of Liberation

Devanagari script

प्रतिजन्म प्रपद्यन्ते तेषामपि परं पुनः / ससूक्ष्मलिङ्गशरीरमामोक्षादक्षरं खग

Transliteration

pratijanma prapadyante teṣāmapi paraṃ punaḥ / sasūkṣmaliṅgaśarīramāmokṣādakṣaraṃ khaga

Translation

生から生へと、彼らは繰り返し有身の存在を得続ける。聖なる鳥ガルダよ、彼らにおいても、解脱（モークシャ）に至るまで、リンガ・シャリーラを伴う不滅の微細身が存続する。

Word by Word

• prati-janma: in each birth
• prati-janma: Kāla/Avadhi (काल/temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati (अव्यय) + janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva; adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण) meaning repetition per birth

• prapadyante: they attain/enter
• prapadyante: Kriyā (क्रिया/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pad (धातु) with pra- (प्र+पद्)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; particle (निपात)

• param: the higher state
• param: Karma (कर्म/object of prapadyante)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• sa-sūkṣma-liṅga-śarīram: (state) with the subtle linga-body
• sa-sūkṣma-liṅga-śarīram: Karma (कर्म/object; apposition to param)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa (अव्यय/सह) + sūkṣma (प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (with sahārtha ‘sa-’); Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ā-mokṣāt: until liberation
• ā-mokṣāt: Avadhi (अवधि/limit)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva; ablatival adverbial meaning ‘up to liberation’

• akṣaram: imperishable
• akṣaram: Karma (कर्म/object complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); predicate/appositive to param

• khaga: O bird (Garuda)
• khaga: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The subtle (linga) body persists across births and remains until liberation; rebirth continues until moksha.

Vedantic Theme: Samsara driven by subtle-body continuity; moksha as cessation of upadhi-based transmigration.

Application: Cultivate dispassion and seek liberating knowledge/devotion rather than identifying with recurring embodied states.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.49.11-14 (gradation of births; rarity of human birth; jnana as moksha); Garuda Purana Pretakalpa themes: jiva’s post-mortem travel with subtle body (general)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Moksha

FAQs

What is the importance of the subtle body (sukshma/linga sharira) in Garuda Purana?

This verse states that the subtle/linga body is imperishable and continues across births, functioning as the carrier of karmic impressions until liberation is attained.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul across rebirth?

It explains that repeated embodiment happens “birth after birth,” and what persists through these transitions is the subtle (linga) body, which remains until moksha ends the cycle.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with ethical restraint and spiritual discipline (dharma, japa, charity, self-control), recognizing that habits and karmic tendencies persist beyond one lifetime until purified through liberation-oriented practice.