Shloka 50

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

Devanagari script

न रुद्रवन्न चान्यानि लक्षणानि खगेश्वर / षड्विंशत्या लक्षणैश्चापि युक्ता वारुण्याः षड्लक्षणैश्चैव हीना

Transliteration

na rudravanna cānyāni lakṣaṇāni khageśvara / ṣaḍviṃśatyā lakṣaṇaiścāpi yuktā vāruṇyāḥ ṣaḍlakṣaṇaiścaiva hīnā

Translation

О владыка птиц, здесь нет признаков, приписываемых Рудре, и нет иных благих знамений. Хотя говорится, что оно наделено двадцатью шестью признаками, тип Варуни особо описывается как лишённый шести признаков.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध अव्यय)

• rudra-vat: like Rudra
• rudra-vat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (वत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Comparative indeclinable (उपमानवाचक अव्यय): 'like Rudra'

• na: nor/not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध अव्यय)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• anyāni: other
• anyāni: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• lakṣaṇāni: characteristics/marks
• lakṣaṇāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• khaga-īśvara: O lord of birds
• khaga-īśvara: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaga (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन); Tatpuruṣa: 'lord of birds'

• ṣaḍviṃśatyā: by/with twenty-six
• ṣaḍviṃśatyā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaḍviṃśati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral; Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• lakṣaṇaiḥ: with marks
• lakṣaṇaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (अपि = also/even)

• yuktā: endowed/possessed
• yuktā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yuj (युज् धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• vāruṇyāḥ: of Vāruṇī
• vāruṇyāḥ: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāruṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• ṣaṭ-lakṣaṇaiḥ: by/with six marks
• ṣaṭ-lakṣaṇaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); Dvigu: 'six-marks'

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (अवधारण)

• hīnā: devoid/deficient
• hīnā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Lakṣaṇa-vicāra (assessment of bodily marks) and categorical differentiation (e.g., Varuṇī-type lacking specific marks).

Vedantic Theme: Guṇa–karma–saṃskāra shaping embodied indicators; empirical signs used for worldly discernment rather than ultimate Self-knowledge.

Application: Use as a diagnostic checklist in traditional samudrika/auspiciousness assessment; avoid overgeneralization and treat ‘absence of marks’ as a defined category, not a moral verdict.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.22 (lakṣaṇa-prakaraṇa context; enumerations of 26/25/24/23 marks and doṣas in adjacent verses)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Rudra
• Varuna
• Varuni

FAQs

What is the importance of lakṣaṇa (signs/characteristics) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights that specific classifications are made based on lakṣaṇas, and that absence or presence of defined marks is used to distinguish types—relevant to ritual and interpretive frameworks in the Preta Kanda.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by stressing technical classifications (types defined by characteristics), it reflects the Garuda Purana’s method of mapping post-death conditions through precise identifiers used in the narrative on preta states and rites.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Approach Garuda Purana’s ritual and afterlife descriptions with careful attention to technical terms and classifications, and consult qualified tradition-bearers when applying such distinctions to śrāddha or death-rite practices.