Shloka 16
Akalamṛtyu-kāraṇa and Bāla Antyeṣṭi: Age-graded Funeral Rites, Śrāddha Types, and Sonship Duties
सुखं दुः खं सदा वेत्ति देही वै सर्वगस्त्विह / परित्यज्य तदात्मानं जीर्णां त्वचमिवोरगः
sukhaṃ duḥ khaṃ sadā vetti dehī vai sarvagastviha / parityajya tadātmānaṃ jīrṇāṃ tvacamivoragaḥ
దేహి ఇక్కడ సర్వత్ర సంచరిస్తూ నిత్యం సుఖదుఃఖాలను అనుభవిస్తాడు. తరువాత ఆ దేహాత్మభావాన్ని విడిచి, పాము జీర్ణ చర్మాన్ని వదిలినట్లే, ప్రయాణమవుతాడు।
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: The jīva experiences sukha and duḥkha while moving through life, then abandons the body as something external—like a snake discarding old skin.
Vedantic Theme: Ātman distinct from deha; dehābhimāna is incidental; saṃsāra as changing upādhis; the witness-self remains while bodies are shed.
Application: Meditate on body as a temporary covering; practice vairāgya, reduce fear of death, and respond to pleasure/pain with steadiness.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: repeated analogies of body as garment/skin and the soul’s departure; Pretakalpa passages describing subtle body and separation from gross body
FAQs
It teaches that death is the soul’s separation from the worn-out physical body; the jīva continues while the body is discarded, supporting detachment from deha-abhimāna (body-identification).
By stating the dehī ‘moves everywhere’ and then abandons the body, it implies continuity of the jīva beyond the physical frame—consistent with Garuda Purana’s afterlife narrative where the soul proceeds with subtle association rather than the gross body.
Cultivate detachment and ethical living: treat pleasure and pain as transient experiences of embodiment, and prioritize dharma, devotion, and right conduct over mere bodily identity.