Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 11
Karma, Subtle-Body Formation, and the Route of Departure (Ūrdhva-mārga)
मनोवाक्कायजान्दोषांस्तथां भुङ्क्ते खगेश्वर / मृतः स सुखमाप्नोति मायापाशैर्न बध्यते / पाशबद्धो नरो यस्तु विकर्मनिरतो भवेत्
manovākkāyajāndoṣāṃstathāṃ bhuṅkte khageśvara / mṛtaḥ sa sukhamāpnoti māyāpāśairna badhyate / pāśabaddho naro yastu vikarmanirato bhavet
खगेश्वर! मनोवाक्कायजान् दोषान् नूनं भुङ्क्ते। मृतः स सुखमाप्नोति, मायापाशैर्न बध्यते। पाशबद्धो नरो यस्तु विकर्मनिरतो भवेत्, स बन्धनदुःखं प्राप्नोति।
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: One must account for doṣas of mind, speech, and body; restraint and right action lead to post-death well-being and freedom from māyā’s nooses, while vikarma leads to bondage.
Vedantic Theme: Bandha–mokṣa polarity; māyā-pāśa as metaphor for saṃsāric entanglement; tri-karaṇa-śuddhi (purity of thought, word, deed).
Application: Practice tri-karaṇa discipline: truthful speech, non-harmful action, and mental purification (japa, self-inquiry, confession/prāyaścitta); avoid habitual wrongdoing.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Related Themes: Garuda Purana teachings on vikarma leading to naraka and bondage; Sections on māyā, pāśa, and Yama’s punishments for specific sins
FAQs
This verse frames sin and merit as arising through three channels—thought, speech, and action—and states that their results must be experienced, making inner intention and outer conduct equally karmically significant.
It contrasts freedom from “māyā-pāśa” (illusory bonds) with the condition of the person who becomes absorbed in vikarma (wrong/forbidden deeds), implying that wrongful action tightens bondage and leads to post-death suffering.
Practice restraint in thought, truthful and non-harmful speech, and righteous conduct; specifically avoid vikarma (knowingly unethical/forbidden actions), since the Purana links such habits to deeper bondage and distress.