Shloka 7
Maṅgalācaraṇa, the Sages’ Inquiry, and Hari as Supreme with an Avatāra-Outline
को ध्येयः को जगत्स्रष्टा जगत्पात्ति च हन्ति कः / कस्मात्प्रवर्तते धर्मो दुष्टहन्ता च कः स्मृतः
ko dhyeyaḥ ko jagatsraṣṭā jagatpātti ca hanti kaḥ / kasmātpravartate dharmo duṣṭahantā ca kaḥ smṛtaḥ
ആർ ധ്യാനയോഗ്യൻ? ജഗത്തിന്റെ സ്രഷ്ടാവ് ആർ? ലോകത്തെ പാലിക്കുന്നവൻ ആർ, സംഹരിക്കുന്നവൻ ആർ? ധർമ്മം ആരിൽ നിന്നാണ് പ്രവഹിക്കുന്നത്, ദുഷ്ടഹന്താ എന്ന് ആരെയാണ് സ്മരിക്കുന്നത്?
Garuda (Vinata-putra) addressing Lord Vishnu
Concept: The Supreme as dhyeya and as the single source of creation, preservation, dissolution, dharma, and the destruction of adharma.
Vedantic Theme: Īśvara as abhinna-nimitta-upādāna-kāraṇa (both efficient and material cause in Purāṇic idiom) and dharma-yonitva (source of dharma).
Application: Adopt a unified worldview: meditate on the Supreme as the ground of cosmic order; align conduct with dharma understood as emanating from the Lord’s ordinance.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: assembly (saṃvāda setting)
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.1.8 (form, creation doctrine, vows, yoga); Garuda Purana 1.1.9 (avatāras, varṇāśrama)
FAQs
This verse frames the text’s theology by asking who alone is truly “dhyeya” (worthy of contemplation), pointing the reader toward a single supreme principle behind creation, protection, destruction, and dharma.
Indirectly, it establishes that dharma originates from the supreme ruler; in the Garuda Purana’s broader narrative, the soul’s post-death journey and outcomes depend on alignment with that dharma.
Use it as a daily reflection: keep your worship/attention on the highest good, live by dharma, and avoid wrongdoing—since the same divine order sustains the world and removes evil.