Shloka 62

Svapnādhāya (Dream-Chapter): Causes, Forms, Nourishment, and Liberation of Pretas

Devanagari script

लज्जा मे जायते तात वदतो भोजनं स्वकम् / यत्स्त्रीरजो योनिगतं प्रेता भुञ्जन्ति तत्तु वै

Transliteration

lajjā me jāyate tāta vadato bhojanaṃ svakam / yatstrīrajo yonigataṃ pretā bhuñjanti tattu vai

Translation

ఓ తాత, వారి స్వంత ఆహారాన్ని చెప్పడానికే నాకు లజ్జ కలుగుతుంది—స్త్రీరజస్సు యోనిమార్గంలో ఉన్నదే నిజంగా ప్రేతులు భుజిస్తారు।

Word by Word

• लज्जा: shame
• लज्जा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लज्जा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मे: to me / of me
• मे: Sampradana (Experiencer/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Case 6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; स्वाम्यर्थे (genitive: ‘of me/to me’)

• जायते: arises/is born
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• तात: O dear one/father
• तात: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/संबोधन), एकवचन

• वदतः: of (me) speaking
• वदतः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वद् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle) ‘वदत्’; षष्ठी (Case 6), एकवचन; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग रूप (genitive: ‘of (me) speaking’)

• भोजनम्: food
• भोजनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन

• स्वकम्: one’s own
• स्वकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (relative)

• स्त्री-रजः: menstrual fluid
• स्त्री-रजः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक) + रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘स्त्रियाः रजः’

• योनि-गतम्: located in the womb/vagina
• योनि-गतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक) + गत (कृदन्त; √गम् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; भूतकृदन्त (PPP) अर्थे ‘योनौ गतम्’

• प्रेताः: pretas
• प्रेताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• भुञ्जन्ति: eat
• भुञ्जन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक निपात

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक निपात

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Extreme impurity and adharma correspond to degraded sustenance and association with pretas; speech itself recoils, indicating moral boundary.

Vedantic Theme: Tamas as downward pull; attachment to bodily impurity and adharma yields lower states; disgust functions as vairāgya-trigger.

Application: Cultivate purity of conduct and mind; avoid environments/actions that normalize degradation; use the teaching as a deterrent and as impetus toward sattva and devotion.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Geographic Context

Type: bodily/liminal space (yoni as symbolic locus)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.22: continuation of preta-bhojana descriptions with escalating bibhatsa imagery

Characters & Entities

• Pretas
• Garuda

FAQs

What is the importance of describing preta-food in the Garuda Purana?

This verse uses deliberately repulsive imagery to stress that the preta-condition is a state of deprivation shaped by karma, motivating dharmic living and proper post-death rites.

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

It reflects the intermediate preta phase where the departed may experience hunger and humiliation; the text frames such suffering as a karmic result and a reason to follow prescribed dharma and funerary observances.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live with restraint and purity of conduct, and ensure respectful death rites for ancestors; the verse functions as a moral warning against actions that lead to degraded post-mortem states.