Shloka 37

The Explanation of the Post-funeral Rites (Aurdhvadehika) and Related Matters

Devanagari script

द्वादश प्रतिमास्यानि श्राद्धमेकादशे तथा / त्रिपक्षसम्भवञ्चैव द्वे रिक्ते खग षोडश

Transliteration

dvādaśa pratimāsyāni śrāddhamekādaśe tathā / tripakṣasambhavañcaiva dve rikte khaga ṣoḍaśa

Translation

పన్నెండు మాసిక శ్రాద్ధాలు ఉన్నాయి; అలాగే ఏకాదశాహం (పదకొండవ రోజు) శ్రాద్ధమూ ఉంది. మూడు పక్షాలకు సంబంధించిన కర్మలూ ఉన్నాయి. కాబట్టి, ఓ ఖగ (గరుడా)! మొత్తం పదహారు విధులు; వాటిలో నియమప్రకారం రెండు ‘రిక్త’ (అర్పణరహిత)మని చెప్పబడినవి.

Word by Word

• dvādaśa: twelve
• dvādaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषण (numeral adjective), प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचन-नपुंसकलिङ्गे (agreeing with प्रतिमास्यानि)

• pratimāsyāni: monthly (rites) / those occurring each month
• pratimāsyāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati-māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन (Nominative Pl.); अव्ययीभाव-समास: प्रति + मास (each month)

• śrāddham: śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. Sg.)

• ekādaśe: on the eleventh (day/tithi)
• ekādaśe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी एकवचन (Locative Sg.), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (context: तिथौ/दिने implied)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपपद/समुच्चयार्थ (adverb: ‘likewise/also’)

• tri-pakṣa-sambhavam: that which occurs after three fortnights
• tri-pakṣa-sambhavam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sambhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. Sg.); तत्पुरुष-समास: त्रिपक्षस्य सम्भवम् (arising after three fortnights)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• dve: two
• dve: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषण; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया द्विवचन (Nom./Acc. Dual)

• rikte: empty/void (days)
• rikte: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rikta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया द्विवचन (agreeing with dve; ‘two empty (tithis/days)’)

• khaga: O bird (Garuda)
• khaga: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचन (Vocative Sg.)

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen
• ṣoḍaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषण; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन/बहुवचन (contextual; likely concluding count ‘sixteen’)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Shraddha Ritual

Ritual Type: Ekoddishta

Beneficiary: Pitr

Timing: Monthly cycle plus an eleventh-day observance and tri-pakṣa-related rites; two ‘rikta’ observances per rule.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Śrāddha is structured by fixed counts and timings; completeness and correct sequence matter.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-kāṇḍa as purifier and sustainer of ṛta/dharma; saṃskāra as ordering principle for saṃsāra.

Application: Maintain a śrāddha calendar: monthly observances, ekādaśī-related rite, and tri-pakṣa rites; note which are ‘rikta’ (without offering) per rule/tradition.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana, Pretakalpa: śrāddha-vidhi sections on ekoddiṣṭa/sapīṇḍīkaraṇa and monthly rites (contextual continuity around 2.35)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Pitris

FAQs

What is the importance of monthly śrāddha in the Garuda Purana?

This verse counts the monthly śrāddhas as a structured set of rites meant to support and stabilize the departed’s post-death journey, showing that śrāddha is not a one-time act but a timed dharmic obligation.

What does the Garuda Purana indicate by the eleventh-day śrāddha (ekādaśāha)?

The verse highlights the eleventh-day śrāddha as a distinct, essential observance within the sequence of post-death rites, traditionally understood as a key milestone in preta-related ceremonies.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

If one follows śrāddha, this verse encourages doing it with timing and continuity—performing the core day-specific rite and the subsequent periodic remembrances with sincerity, charity, and ethical living as supportive dharma.