Shloka 136
Āśauca, Daśāha Piṇḍa-Rites, Vṛṣotsarga, Sāpiṇḍīkaraṇa, and the Yama-mārga
Path to Yama
मासे चैकादशे पूर्णे पुरं रौद्रं स गच्छति / गच्छन्नेव विलपते यथा पृष्ठे प्रपीडितः
māse caikādaśe pūrṇe puraṃ raudraṃ sa gacchati / gacchanneva vilapate yathā pṛṣṭhe prapīḍitaḥ
പതിനൊന്നാം മാസം പൂർത്തിയായാൽ അവൻ ‘രൗദ്ര’ എന്ന ഭീകര നഗരത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുന്നു। പോകുന്നതിനിടയിലും അവൻ പിൻഭാഗം അമർത്തി ചതച്ചുപൊട്ടിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ വിലപിക്കുന്നു।
Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Beneficiary: Pitr
Timing: एकादशे मासे पूर्णे (upon completion of the eleventh month)
Concept: As time progresses (eleventh month), the preta reaches harsher stations; suffering is portrayed as compressive force, underscoring karmic burden and the urgency of dharmic life and rites.
Vedantic Theme: Duḥkha as the fruit of bondage; the ‘crushing’ symbolizes the weight of saṃskāras/karma pressing the jīva until purification and higher pursuit.
Application: Sustain the monthly śrāddha sequence through the eleventh month; cultivate dharma and devotion to reduce fear and prepare for death consciously.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: city
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: eleventh-month station named Raudra; progressive cities on the preta-path; Garuda Purana: metaphors of bodily crushing and torment during transit
FAQs
This verse marks a specific stage in the preta’s post-death timeline: upon completion of the eleventh month, the departed is said to reach the fierce city called Raudra, indicating an intensification of distress on the onward path.
It depicts the preta’s journey as both progressive (moving through set milestones) and painful—he continues forward yet cries out as if physically tormented, emphasizing the burdened, afflicted condition of the subtle traveler.
It encourages timely śrāddha and pinda-related observances and, ethically, a life of restraint and dharma—since the text frames the after-death passage as shaped by one’s karmic condition and supported by proper rites.