Shloka 23

Nirūpaṇa (Nāḍī–Svara-Nirūpaṇam): Breath Currents, Omens, and Action-Timing

Devanagari script

घोरे घोराणि कार्याणि सौम्ये वै मध्यमानि च / प्रस्थिते भागतो हंसे द्वाभ्यां वै सर्ववाहिनी

Transliteration

ghore ghorāṇi kāryāṇi saumye vai madhyamāni ca / prasthite bhāgato haṃse dvābhyāṃ vai sarvavāhinī

Translation

Dalam keadaan yang mengerikan, perbuatan yang mengerikan muncul; dalam keadaan yang lembut, perbuatan menjadi sederhana. Ketika jiwa berangkat, wahai Haṃsa, ia berjalan menurut bahagian karma yang diperuntukkan; oleh dua keadaan ini, arus yang menanggung segalanya membawanya terus maju.

Word by Word

• घोरे: in the terrible (state/side)
• घोरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• घोराणि: terrible
• घोराणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• कार्याणि: acts/deeds
• कार्याणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• सौम्ये: in the gentle (state/side)
• सौम्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक अव्यय (indeed/emphatic particle)

• मध्यमानि: middling/moderate
• मध्यमानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मध्यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (and)

• प्रस्थिते: when (it is) set forth/departed
• प्रस्थिते: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; 'प्रस्थिते' = when departed/when set forth

• भागतः: from/according to the part (division)
• भागतः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भागतस् (अव्यय; भाग + तस्)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb: from/according to the part)

• हंसे: in/with the Haṃsa (principle)
• हंसे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हंस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• द्वाभ्याम्: by/with two
• द्वाभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), द्विवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक अव्यय (indeed)

• सर्ववाहिनी: the all-carrying (channel/force)
• सर्ववाहिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्ववाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + वाहिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue with Garuda/Vinata-putra; vocative 'haṃse' used as an address within the teaching)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Experiences and actions mirror the prevailing condition (ghora/saumya), and at departure the jīva moves according to its karmic portion; the onward course is ‘all-bearing’ (inevitable conveyor).

Vedantic Theme: Karma-niyati (lawful moral causation) shaping post-mortem trajectory; saṁsāra as a carried flow until knowledge/liberation intervenes.

Application: Cultivate wholesome actions and mental states now; recognize that habitual tendencies and karma shape end-of-life experience and what follows.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: journey-route

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: detailed mapping of the soul’s journey and karmic consequences; Garuda Purana: descriptions of ghoratā (terror) in papa-phala and saumyatā in punya-phala

FAQs

What is the importance of karma (bhāga) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse states that after departure, the being moves according to its allotted share of karma—experiences and pathways are not random but proportionate to one’s accumulated deeds.

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

It frames the soul’s onward movement as carried by an all-bearing force (sarvavāhinī), where the quality of actions—terrible or moderate—corresponds to the conditions and outcomes encountered after setting forth.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate dharmic habits and avoid harmful actions, since the text emphasizes that one’s future course is shaped by the moral weight and quality of one’s deeds.