Shloka 36
Post-cremation Ripening of Karma and the Principal Narakas
प्रयान्ति प्राणिनस्तत्र क्षुत्तापपरिपीडिताः / मातर्भ्रातस्तात इति क्रन्दमानाः सुदुः खिताः
prayānti prāṇinastatra kṣuttāpaparipīḍitāḥ / mātarbhrātastāta iti krandamānāḥ suduḥ khitāḥ
അവിടെ പ്രാണികൾ വിശപ്പും കത്തുന്ന ദാഹവും കൊണ്ട് പീഡിതരായി മുന്നോട്ട് പോകുന്നു; അത്യന്തം ദുഃഖത്തോടെ ‘അമ്മേ! സഹോദരാ! അച്ഛാ!’ എന്നു കരഞ്ഞുവിളിക്കുന്നു.
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vainateya)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: At death, worldly supports fall away; one’s own karma alone accompanies the jīva, making regret and longing futile in naraka.
Vedantic Theme: Asakti (attachment) culminates in sorrow; true shelter is the Self/Hari, not relational identity.
Application: While alive, perform dharma and cultivate devotion; care for family but do not cling—prepare through remembrance, charity, and right conduct.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: path/route through naraka terrain
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: repeated motif of the preta calling for relatives and finding none (general parallel)
FAQs
This verse emphasizes the preta’s vulnerable state after death—afflicted by intense deprivation—highlighting why prescribed rites and meritorious conduct are taught as supports for the departed.
It portrays the departed as moving along the post-death route in distress, calling for family, indicating separation from the familiar world and the painful transition described in the Preta Kanda narrative.
Cultivate compassion and responsibility toward ancestors—perform appropriate śrāddha-related duties per tradition, and live ethically so one’s own passage is not marked by remorse and suffering.