Shloka 114
Multi-form Manifestations, Indra–Kāma Incarnations, Pravāha, and the Twofold Buddhi
Sense-Discipline and Exclusive Refuge in Viṣṇu
यदा पते यमदूतैश्च पाशैर्बद्ध्वा च सम्यक् ताड्यमानः कशाभिः / तदा स्कन्दः कुत्र पलायते ऽसावतो मूलं विष्णुपादं भजस्व
yadā pate yamadūtaiśca pāśairbaddhvā ca samyak tāḍyamānaḥ kaśābhiḥ / tadā skandaḥ kutra palāyate 'sāvato mūlaṃ viṣṇupādaṃ bhajasva
जेव्हा यमदूत तुला पाशांनी बांधून चाबकाने बेदम मारतील, तेव्हा तो स्कंद कोठे पळून जाईल? म्हणून मूळ अशा विष्णूच्या चरणांचे भजन कर.
Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vinata-putra, as part of the Preta Kanda discourse)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: In the face of Yamadūta enforcement, reliance on other deities as protectors is portrayed as ineffective; take refuge in Viṣṇu’s feet as mūla-āśraya.
Vedantic Theme: Ekatva-niṣṭhā in the Supreme; śaraṇāgati transcending fear; subordination of all powers to the Absolute.
Application: Center devotion and ethics now; cultivate remembrance of Viṣṇu so that at crisis (death) the mind has a stable refuge.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: liminal passage to judgment
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: Viṣṇu as protector from Yamadūtas (general motif); Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: pāśa-bandhana and daṇḍa imagery (general)
FAQs
This verse states that when karmic retribution manifests through Yama’s agents, worldly or even other divine associations cannot serve as reliable protection; the “root” refuge is surrender to Vishnu (viṣṇupāda).
It portrays the post-death accountability phase where the bound and punished being is seized by Yamadutas, emphasizing that the soul’s fate is driven by karma unless one has the saving refuge of Vishnu-bhakti.
Live ethically to reduce harmful karma, and cultivate steady devotion (bhajana/śaraṇāgati) to Vishnu as a spiritual anchor beyond fear, especially in reflections on death and afterlife.