Preta Kalpa Adhyaya 34 Shloka 133 - Garuda Purana | Malayalam | Vedapath

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Shloka 133

Dharma–Adharma Marks; Daśāha, Piṇḍa Formation, Śrāddha Calendar, Śayyā-dāna, and Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa Rules

Devanagari script

सर्वेषां पुत्रहीनानां पत्री कुर्यात् सपिण्डनम् / ऋत्विजं करायेद्वाथ पुरोहितमथापि वा

Transliteration

sarveṣāṃ putrahīnānāṃ patrī kuryāt sapiṇḍanam / ṛtvijaṃ karāyedvātha purohitamathāpi vā

Translation

പുത്രരില്ലാതെ മരിച്ച എല്ലാവർക്കും ഭാര്യ സപിണ്ഡീകരണകർമ്മം ചെയ്യേണ്ടതാണ്. അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ഋത്വിക് അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പുരോഹിതൻ മുഖേനയും അത് നടത്തിക്കൊള്ളാം.

Word by Word

सर्वेषाम्of all

पुत्रहीनानाम्of those without sons

पत्रीthe letter/document (patrī)

कुर्यात्should do/perform

सपिण्डनम्sapiṇḍana rite (making into one piṇḍa/kinship offering)

ऋत्विजम्the officiating priest

कारयेत्should cause (him) to do / should have (it) done

वाor

अथthen/also

पुरोहितम्the family priest

अथand/then

अपिalso/even

वाor

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda)

Shraddha Ritual

Ritual Type: Sapindana

Beneficiary: Pitr

Timing: After preta-kriyā period as prescribed; performed to join the departed with pitṛs when no son is available.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Adhikāra (eligibility) and delegation in śrāddha: when no son exists, the patnī may perform or commission sapiṇḍīkaraṇa to secure pitṛ-sambandha.

Vedantic Theme: Kartṛtva-niyama within varṇāśrama-dharma; karma as a means to uphold ṛṇa (pitṛ-ṛṇa) and social-cosmic order (ṛta).

Application: If a man dies sonless, arrange sapiṇḍīkaraṇa through the widow or via ṛtvik/purohita with proper saṅkalpa, ensuring lineage-rites are not abandoned.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: griha (household) / shraddha-vedi

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa/Śrāddha-prakaraṇa: sapiṇḍīkaraṇa rules; piṇḍa-dāna eligibility discussions

Characters & Entities

Rtvij (officiating priest)

Purohita (family priest)

Pitris (implied through sapiṇḍīkaraṇa)

FAQs

What is the importance of sapiṇḍīkaraṇa in the Garuda Purana?

This verse presents sapiṇḍīkaraṇa as the key rite that connects the departed to the ancestral group (pitṛ-line), ensuring proper ancestral status even when the deceased has no son.

Who should perform the rites if the deceased is putrahina (without a son)?

The verse explicitly authorizes the wife to perform sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, or to have it performed through an officiating priest (ṛtvik) or a family priest (purohita).

Practical application of this teaching today?

If customary performers are unavailable, the teaching emphasizes continuity of essential rites through authorized agents—especially the spouse and qualified priests—so that duties to ancestors are not neglected.