Dāna as Prāyaścitta; Deathbed Gifts; Antyeṣṭi Procedures; Nārāyaṇa-bali for Untimely Deaths
कण्ठग्रहे विलग्नानां क्षीणानां तुण्डघातिनाम् / विषाग्निवृषविप्रेभ्यो विषूच्या चात्मघातकाः
kaṇṭhagrahe vilagnānāṃ kṣīṇānāṃ tuṇḍaghātinām / viṣāgnivṛṣaviprebhyo viṣūcyā cātmaghātakāḥ
Mereka yang tercekik hingga tersekat di kerongkong, mereka yang susut dan kurus kering, mereka yang rebah kerana pukulan dan kecederaan, mereka yang ditimpa sengsara oleh racun, api, bahaya berkaitan ternakan, atau kerana kesalahan terhadap para brāhmaṇa; mereka yang diserang wabak ganas seperti kolera, bahkan para pembunuh diri—semuanya dihuraikan sebagai akibat daripada dosa.
Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: Specific sufferings and untimely deaths are linked to specific pāpa and transgressions; moral causality is emphasized to deter wrongdoing and prompt remediation.
Vedantic Theme: Adharma binds through painful vipāka; ethical restraint purifies the antaḥkaraṇa and supports a better gati.
Application: Avoid violence, poisoning, arson, harming cattle, and offenses to brāhmaṇas; seek expiation and spiritual support; treat epidemics with both practical care and ritual propriety where culturally relevant.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: body/illness scenes; accident sites (implied)
Related Themes: Garuda Purana lists of naraka/karma-vipāka and apamṛtyu categories; Garuda Purana prāyaścitta and śānti measures for grave sins and suicide
This verse presents bodily afflictions—choking fits, wasting illness, injury, poison, fire, epidemics—as karmic outcomes, reinforcing the Purana’s teaching that harmful actions (pāpa) ripen into specific forms of suffering.
By cataloging painful modes of dying and severe afflictions, the text frames them as signs of heavy demerit that shape the preta-experience and the soul’s subsequent journey under Yama’s order, emphasizing moral causality before and after death.
Avoid violence, deceit, and harm to beings; treat sacred persons and animals with respect; cultivate sāttvika conduct and seek atonement (prāyaścitta) and dharmic living to reduce harmful karmic momentum.