Shloka 17

Karma, Varṇa-Dharma, and Dāna as the Soul’s True Companion on the Path to Yama

Devanagari script

देहं समासाद्य तथैव पिण्डजं वर्णांस्तथैवान्त्यजम्लेच्छसंज्ञितान् / मरुन्मयं देहमिमे विशन्ति नैवेहमानाः पथि धर्मसंकुले

Transliteration

dehaṃ samāsādya tathaiva piṇḍajaṃ varṇāṃstathaivāntyajamlecchasaṃjñitān / marunmayaṃ dehamime viśanti naivehamānāḥ pathi dharmasaṃkule

Translation

പിണ്ഡജന്യമായും സ്വന്തം വർണ്ണാനുസൃതമായും—അഥവാ ‘അന്ത്യജ’ ‘മ്ലേച്ഛ’ എന്നു വിളിക്കപ്പെടുന്നതുമായ—ദേഹം ലഭിച്ച ശേഷം ഈ ജീവികൾ വായുമയമായ സൂക്ഷ്മദേഹത്തിൽ പ്രവേശിക്കുന്നു. ധർമ്മംകൊണ്ട് സങ്കീർണ്ണമായ ആ പഥത്തിലൂടെ പോകുമ്പോൾ അവർ ഇനി ഇവിടെ (മുൻ ലോകാവസ്ഥയിൽ) നിലനിൽക്കുകയില്ല।

Word by Word

• देहम्: body
• देहम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• समासाद्य: having attained
• समासाद्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + सद् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive), from √सद् with उपसर्ग सम्+आ; ‘having reached/attained’

• तथा: thus
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb of manner)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय

• पिण्डजम्: corporeal/embryo-born
• पिण्डजम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पिण्डज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (born of a lump/embryonic, corporeal) qualifying ‘देहम्’

• वर्णान्: classes/castes
• वर्णान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• तथा: thus
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक

• एव: also/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय

• अन्त्यजम्लेच्छसंज्ञितान्: designated as outcastes and mlecchas
• अन्त्यजम्लेच्छसंज्ञितान्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्त्यज + म्लेच्छ + संज्ञित (√ज्ञा) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; समासः (बहुपद) तत्पुरुष-प्रायः: ‘अन्त्यज-म्लेच्छ’ इति संज्ञा येषाम्/संज्ञिताः; ‘called outcast/mleccha’ qualifying ‘वर्णान्’

• मरुन्मयम्: made of wind/air
• मरुन्मयम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मरुत् + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘मरुतां मयः’ = made of wind/air; विशेषणम् ‘देहम्’

• देहम्: body
• देहम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• इमे: these (beings)
• इमे: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• विशन्ति: enter
• विशन्ति: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• एव: at all/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: here)

• अमानाः: humble (without pride)
• अमानाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘without honor/pride’ (humble) qualifying ‘इमे’

• पथि: on the path
• पथि: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पथिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative)

• धर्मसंकुले: crowded with dharma
• धर्मसंकुले: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म + संकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘धर्मेण संकुलः’ = crowded/filled with dharma; locative agreeing with ‘पथि’

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue with Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Shraddha Ritual

Beneficiary: Pitr

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: After death, beings enter a subtle, wind-formed body; social identity markers reflect karmic conditioning, but the journey proceeds under dharma’s law beyond worldly station.

Vedantic Theme: Sūkṣma-śarīra and saṃskāra-vāsanā continuity; karma carries the jīva through transitional states until reaping results.

Application: Live with awareness that actions imprint the subtle continuum; cultivate dharma and devotion now to shape the post-mortem trajectory.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: intermediate route

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa descriptions of the subtle body (vāyavīya/ātivāhika) and the soul’s journey after death (general internal parallels)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Pretas
• Varna
• Antyaja
• Mleccha

FAQs

What is the importance of the 'marunmaya deha' (wind-made body) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse indicates that after death the being transitions into a subtle, vāyu-formed body suitable for travel and experiencing karmic consequences, distinct from the gross physical body.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

It portrays the soul entering a subtle body and moving on a dharma-sankula path—one governed by moral law and karmic accounting—showing that the deceased does not continue in the prior worldly state.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with dharma-consciousness and perform respectful death rites (including piṇḍa offerings where traditional) as reminders of responsibility, continuity, and the ethical weight of actions.