Garuda Purana — Moksha Sadhana Prakarana, Shloka 26

Kāraṇānvēṣaṇam: The 32 Marks of Hari, Defects (Doṣas), Death-Omens, and Hari’s Omnipresence in Social & Household Life

Devanagari script

प्रवाहा विंशकैर्युक्ता यम एकोनविंशकैः / पाश्यष्टादशभिर्युक्तो दशसप्तयुतो ऽनलः

Transliteration

pravāhā viṃśakairyuktā yama ekonaviṃśakaiḥ / pāśyaṣṭādaśabhiryukto daśasaptayuto 'nalaḥ

Translation

Pravāhā ဟူသော အပိုင်းသည် ၂၀ (ယူနစ်) နှင့် ဆက်စပ်၏။ ယမ (Yama) သည် ၁၉ နှင့် ဆက်စပ်၏။ Pāśyā သည် ၁၈ နှင့် ဆက်စပ်ပြီး၊ Anala သည် ၁၇ နှင့် ဆက်စပ်၏။

Word by Word

• pravāhā: Pravāhā (name)
• pravāhā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pravāhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• viṃśakaiḥ: with twenty (marks)
• viṃśakaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṃśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd), Bahuvacana; ‘twenties’/set of twenty

• yuktā: endowed
• yuktā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yuj (धातु) → yukta (कृदन्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta (PPP/क्त), Strīliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• yamaḥ: Yama
• yamaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• ekona-viṃśakaiḥ: with nineteen (marks)
• ekona-viṃśakaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ekona (प्रातिपदिक) + viṃśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd), Bahuvacana; संख्या—‘nineteen’ (एकोनविंशक)

• pāśyaḥ: Pāśya (name)
• pāśyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāśya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• aṣṭādaśabhiḥ: with eighteen (marks)
• aṣṭādaśabhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭādaśan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd), Bahuvacana; संख्या—‘eighteen’

• yuktaḥ: endowed
• yuktaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yuj (धातु) → yukta (कृदन्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta (PPP/क्त), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• daśa-sapta-yutaḥ: having seventeen (marks)
• daśa-sapta-yutaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśan (प्रातिपदिक) + sapta (प्रातिपदिक) + yuta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; संख्या-समासः—‘seventeen’ (दशसप्तयुत)

• analaḥ: Anala (Fire)
• analaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Saṅkhyā-based mapping of divine divisions/powers to fixed units—knowledge as structured correspondence.

Vedantic Theme: Īśvara-niyati (order/governance) reflected through consistent measures; the world as intelligible pattern.

Application: When using traditional correspondences (mantra/nyāsa/kalā/measure lists), preserve exact counts; treat them as mnemonic scaffolding for ritual or contemplative systems.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.22.25 (preceding counts); Garuda Purana 3.22.27-29 (continuing counts)

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Anala

FAQs

What is the importance of these named divisions (Pravāhā, Pāśyā, Anala) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse enumerates specific regions/divisions connected with Yama’s domain, indicating an ordered structure to the afterlife geography described in the Preta Kanda.

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

Indirectly, it supports the text’s broader narrative that the post-death experience is organized into distinct realms under Yama’s administration, through which beings may be directed according to karma.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat the afterlife descriptions as a moral reminder: live ethically and perform prescribed duties (dharma) so one’s post-death passage is not shaped by harmful actions.