Shloka 51

Mukti-tattva Upadeśa: Knowledge as the Direct Cause of Liberation

Devanagari script

मांसलुब्धो यथा मत्स्यो लोहशङ्कुं न पश्यति / सुखलुब्धस्तथा देही यमवाधां न पश्यति

Transliteration

māṃsalubdho yathā matsyo lohaśaṅkuṃ na paśyati / sukhalubdhastathā dehī yamavādhāṃ na paśyati

Translation

మాంసలోభంతో చేప ఇనుప కొంకెను చూడనట్లే, సుఖలోభంతో దేహధారి యముని బాధలు, శిక్షలను గ్రహించడు।

Word by Word

• मांस-लुब्धः: greedy for flesh
• मांस-लुब्धः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मांस (प्रातिपदिक) + लुब्ध (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: लुब्ध = भूतकृदन्त (क्त) from लुभ्; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; nominative singular masculine; qualifies मत्स्यः

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Upamana-marker (उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• मत्स्यः: fish
• मत्स्यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्स्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन; nominative singular masculine

• लोह-शङ्कुम्: iron hook/spike
• लोह-शङ्कुम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोह (प्रातिपदिक) + शङ्कु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; accusative singular masculine

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• पश्यति: sees
• पश्यति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; sees

• सुख-लुब्धः: greedy for pleasure
• सुख-लुब्धः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक) + लुब्ध (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: लुब्ध = भूतकृदन्त (क्त) from लुभ्; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; nominative singular masculine; qualifies देही

• तथा: so, likewise
• तथा: Prakara (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: तुलना/प्रकार-अव्यय (correlative adverb: ‘so, likewise’)

• देही: embodied being
• देही: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देहिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन; nominative singular masculine

• यम-वाधाम्: Yama's torment/punishment
• यम-वाधाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक) + वाधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; accusative singular feminine

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• पश्यति: sees
• पश्यति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; sees

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Pleasure-greed blinds discernment; karmic retribution (Yama’s afflictions) is the concealed hook attached to indulgence.

Vedantic Theme: Avidyā and rāga obscure viveka; karma’s inevitability operates regardless of one’s perception.

Application: Before pursuing pleasure, contemplate its ‘hook’: ethical cost, future suffering, and karmic residue; cultivate moderation, confession/prāyaścitta, and devotion to purify desire.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Geographic Context

Type: moral-cosmic domain

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: descriptions of Yama’s punishments for sense-driven sins (general thematic parallel); Garuda Purana: repeated fish/hook-like warnings via upamā about viṣaya-lobha (thematic)

Characters & Entities

• Yama

FAQs

What is the importance of warning against pleasure-attachment in the Garuda Purana?

This verse teaches that craving for comfort (sukha-lobha) blinds a person to karmic consequences, leading them toward Yama’s punishments after death.

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

It implies that the jīva, deluded by enjoyment while embodied, fails to anticipate post-death accountability; after death, Yama’s punitive ordeals become unavoidable results of one’s actions.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Practice restraint and ethical living—pause before indulgence, remember consequences, and choose dharmic actions so short-term pleasure does not lead to long-term suffering.