Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 42

The Extent of Questions: Deathbed Rites, Kāla (Time), and Karma-Vipāka Rebirths

Devanagari script

तदानुमीयते तेन पीडा मृत्युभवा खग / ततः क्षणेन चैतन्ये विकले जडतां गते

Transliteration

tadānumīyate tena pīḍā mṛtyubhavā khaga / tataḥ kṣaṇena caitanye vikale jaḍatāṃ gate

Translation

ထိုအရာမှ၊ အို ငှက်တော် (ဂရုဍာ)၊ သေချိန်၌ ပေါ်ထွန်းသော နာကျင်ညှဉ်းပန်းမှုကို ခန့်မှန်းသိနိုင်သည်။ ထို့နောက် ခဏအတွင်း စိတ်သတိ ချို့ယွင်းလာ၍ မသိမသာ အမောမိ၍ မေ့လျော့သွားသည်။

Word by Word

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• अनुमीयते: is inferred
• अनुमीयते: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु+मा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद (कर्मणि-प्रयोग/Passive sense) — is inferred

• तेन: thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन — by that/thereby

• पीडा: pain
• पीडा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीडा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — pain/affliction

• मृत्युभवा: death-born
• मृत्युभवा: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक) + भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — arising from death

• खग: O bird
• खग: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन — O bird

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/हेतुवाचक अव्यय (adverb) — then/thereafter

• क्षणेन: in a moment
• क्षणेन: Karana (Measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन — in a moment/within an instant

• चैतन्ये: in consciousness
• चैतन्ये: Adhikarana (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चैतन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन — in consciousness

• विकले: impaired
• विकले: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विकल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — when (it is) impaired

• जडताम्: inertness
• जडताम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जडता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Karma/Accusative), एकवचन — inertness/stupor

• गते: having gone (into)
• गते: Kriya-visheshana (Locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), सप्तमी, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग — when (it) has gone/entered (into)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (addressing Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Death’s torment is inferred from signs; consciousness impairment shows the mind-body instrument failing, not the ātman’s destruction.

Vedantic Theme: Distinction between ātman and antaḥkaraṇa; dissolution of functional consciousness at death while the self remains the witness.

Application: Train in self-inquiry and remembrance so that when cognition falters, the mind has a stable refuge (mantra/smaraṇa).

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: sequence from pain to moha/jāḍya and loss of responsiveness before prāṇa exits

Characters & Entities

• Garuda

FAQs

What is the importance of the dying-process description in Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights a key marker of dying: intense death-born distress followed by rapid impairment of consciousness, framing the Preta Kanda’s practical understanding of prāṇa-viyoga (departure of life-force).

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

It points to the transition point: as awareness becomes weakened and inertness sets in, the embodied person can no longer function through the gross body—setting the stage for the soul’s post-death (preta) journey described in subsequent passages.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

It encourages mindful preparation for death—ethical living, spiritual practice, and timely family support—recognizing that consciousness can decline quickly at life’s end.