Shloka 35

Nārāyaṇa-Smaraṇa as the Supreme Dharma, Expiation, and Yogic Purifier

Devanagari script

न हि ध्यानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते / श्वपचान्नानि भुञ्जानो पापी नैवात्र लिप्यते

Transliteration

na hi dhyānena sadṛśaṃ pavitramiha vidyate / śvapacānnāni bhuñjāno pāpī naivātra lipyate

Translation

ഈ ലോകത്തിൽ ധ്യാനത്തോളം പവിത്രമായത് ഒന്നുമില്ല. ശ്വപചൻ (അന്ത്യജൻ) നൽകിയ അന്നം ഭക്ഷിക്കുന്ന പാപിയും, ആ ധ്യാനത്തിൽ സ്ഥിരനായാൽ, ഇവിടെ മലിനപ്പെടുകയില്ല।

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (particle of negation)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha-bodhaka (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• ध्यानेन: by meditation
• ध्यानेन: Karana (instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• सदृशम्: similar/equal
• सदृशम्: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; 'पवित्रम्' इति विशेषण

• पवित्रम्: purifier; something pure
• पवित्रम्: Karta (grammatical subject of vidyate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पवित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विधेय (predicate noun)

• इह: here/in this world
• इह: Desha-adhikarana (locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• विद्यते: exists/is found
• विद्यते: Kriya (verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √विद् (विद् धातु; 'to be/ to exist'—आत्मनेपद)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• श्वपच-अन्नानि: food of a dog-cooker (outcaste)
• श्वपच-अन्नानि: Karma (object of bhuñjānaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वपच (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—'श्वपचस्य अन्नानि'

• भुञ्जानः: while eating
• भुञ्जानः: Karta (agent/subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भुञ्जान (कृदन्त; √भुज् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle) 'eating'

• पापी: a sinner
• पापी: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पापिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृपद

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• एव: indeed/at all
• एव: Avadharana (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic 'just/only')

• अत्र: here/in this matter
• अत्र: Desha-adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय

• लिप्यते: is tainted/gets smeared
• लिप्यते: Kriya (verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √लिप् (लिप् धातु; passive)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (teaching Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Dhyāna is the highest purifier; inner absorption overrides external impurity and loosens karmic taint.

Vedantic Theme: Citta-śuddhi through upāsanā; primacy of inner transformation over external conditions; pāpa-kṣaya via remembrance/meditation.

Application: When facing guilt, stigma, or unavoidable impurity, intensify meditation and remembrance rather than despair; maintain steady practice as the primary purifier.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: recurring claim that Viṣṇu-smaraṇa/dhyāna burns sins and protects the soul

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Garuda (Vinata-putra)

FAQs

What is the importance of meditation (dhyāna) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse declares dhyāna to be the supreme purifier—so powerful that it prevents the mind from being stained by sin and overrides lesser notions of impurity.

Does this verse reject ritual purity rules in the Garuda Purana?

It prioritizes inner purity: when one is firmly established in meditative awareness, external sources of impurity are said not to “stick,” highlighting consciousness as the decisive factor.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate daily meditation and mental discipline; it strengthens ethical clarity and reduces the hold of past wrongdoing, making purification an inner practice rather than only a social or ritual concern.