Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 11
Vṛṣotsarga as Prerequisite for Śrāddha: Eligibility, Timing, Purification, and the Urgency of Dharma
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच / षण्मासैर्ब्राह्मणः शुध्येद्युग्मे सार्धे तु बाहुजः / सार्धमासेन वैश्यस्तु शूद्रो मासेन शुध्यति
śrīkṛṣṇa uvāca / ṣaṇmāsairbrāhmaṇaḥ śudhyedyugme sārdhe tu bāhujaḥ / sārdhamāsena vaiśyastu śūdro māsena śudhyati
သီရိကృష్ణက မိန့်တော်မူသည်— ဗြာဟ္မဏသည် ခြောက်လအတွင်း သန့်စင်၏။ က္ଷတ္တရိယ (ဗာဟုဇ) သည် နှစ်လခွဲအတွင်း၊ ဝိုင်ရှျသည် တစ်လခွဲအတွင်း၊ ရှူဒြသည် တစ်လအတွင်း သန့်စင်၏။
Śrī Kṛṣṇa (as the instructing divine speaker in the Purāṇic dialogue)
Timing: Specified purification durations (six months / two and a half / one and a half / one month) as eligibility windows for resuming rites
Concept: Varṇa-differentiated śuddhi-kāla (purification time) after impurity, presented as a dharma injunction.
Vedantic Theme: Guṇa/karma-based social duties (varṇāśrama) as a framework for regulated life; external purity supporting inner steadiness.
Application: Follow tradition-specific timelines for ritual resumption (japa, pūjā, śrāddha, social rites) according to one’s dharma framework and community śākhā guidance.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.13.10–14 (sequence: question → rule → exceptions/paths → warning)
FAQs
This verse specifies graded periods of purification, indicating how post-death impurity and the return to ritual eligibility are regulated according to traditional varṇa-based dharma norms.
In the Preta Kanda context, purification periods guide when mourners resume daily rites and religious duties, aligning household conduct with the broader framework of preta-karma and ritual order.
Treat it as a traditional guideline emphasizing disciplined mourning, cleanliness, and gradual return to worship and duties; for contemporary practice, follow one’s family tradition and local dharma-śāstra guidance.