Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 98

Santaptaka’s Encounter with Five Pretas and Their Liberation through Viṣṇu’s Presence

Devanagari script

स्तोत्रैस्तुष्टाव पक्षीश दण्डवत्प्रणनाम माम् / ते ऽपि तेपुस्ततः प्रेता आश्चर्योत्फुल्लचक्षुषः

Transliteration

stotraistuṣṭāva pakṣīśa daṇḍavatpraṇanāma mām / te 'pi tepustataḥ pretā āścaryotphullacakṣuṣaḥ

Translation

«ငှက်တို့၏ အရှင်ရေ၊ သူသည် စတိုးတရများဖြင့် ငါ့ကို ချီးမွမ်း၍ ငါ့ရှေ့၌ ဒဏ္ဍဝတ်ဖြင့် ပျပ်ဝပ်နမസ്കာရပြု၏။ ထို့နောက် ပရေတာတို့လည်း အံ့ဩ၍ မျက်လုံးကျယ်ပြန့်ကာ တပသ်ကို ဆောင်ကြလေ၏»။

Word by Word

• स्तोत्रैः: with hymns
• स्तोत्रैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तोत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (Neuter, Instrumental, Plural)

• तुष्टाव: praised / satisfied (by praising)
• तुष्टाव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √तुष् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (Perfect, 3rd person, Singular)

• पक्षीश: O lord of birds
• पक्षीश: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्षीश (प्रातिपदिक; पक्षिन् + ईश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular)

• दण्डवत्: like a staff; prostrate
• दण्डवत्: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दण्डवत् (अव्यय)
• Form: रीतिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: manner)

• प्रणनाम: I bowed
• प्रणनाम: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नम् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; प्र-उपसर्ग (I bowed down)

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया, एकवचन (Accusative, Singular)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपेक्षार्थक-अव्यय (particle: 'also/even')

• तेपुः: performed austerity / did penance
• तेपुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √तप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद (Perfect, 3rd person, Plural)

• ततः: then / thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Sequence/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/हेतुवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: 'then/thereupon')

• प्रेताः: departed spirits
• प्रेताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• आश्चर्य: wonder
• आश्चर्य: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्चर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; समासपूर्वपद (first member in compound)

• उत्फुल्ल: wide-open / blossomed
• उत्फुल्ल: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्फुल्ल (प्रातिपदिक; √फुल्ल्/√फुल् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; समासमध्यपद (middle member in compound)

• चक्षुषः: (those) with eyes wide in wonder
• चक्षुषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्षुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural); बहुव्रीहि: आश्चर्येण उत्फुल्ले चक्षुषी यस्य (those whose eyes were wide with wonder)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Stotra (praise) and pranama (surrender) please the Lord; divine contact can inspire even the fallen to tapas and inner change.

Vedantic Theme: Anugraha (grace) and bhakti as purifiers; transformation of samskaras through darshana and surrender.

Application: Adopt daily stotra and namaskara; practice humility through physical acts of reverence; let awe become disciplined effort (tapas) rather than mere emotion.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: emphasis on Vishnu devotion as purifier even for pretas (contextual)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Pretas
• Lord Vishnu

FAQs

What is the importance of stotra (hymns) in the Garuda Purana’s after-death teachings?

This verse links praise and reverent prostration with a transformative effect: devotion (stotra and namaskara) inspires even pretas to turn toward tapas, indicating that devotional acts can redirect consciousness after death.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul in the preta state?

It portrays pretas as responsive beings capable of inner change; witnessing devotion and divine presence, they become astonished and begin tapas, suggesting the preta condition is not merely punitive but can become a stage for spiritual reorientation.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate regular stotra-patha and sincere namaskara; the verse emphasizes that devotion and disciplined practice can uplift one’s own mind and is traditionally believed to benefit departed souls through a devotional atmosphere.