Shloka 31
Babhruvāhana Meets a Preta: Vṛṣotsarga, Heirless Death, and the Signs of Preta-Affliction
मृता दुर्मरणाद्ये च ये चासूयापरा जनाः / प्रायश्चित्तविहीना ये अगम्यागमने रताः
mṛtā durmaraṇādye ca ye cāsūyāparā janāḥ / prāyaścittavihīnā ye agamyāgamane ratāḥ
దుర్మరణంతో మరణించినవారు, అలాగే అసూయా-ద్వేషాలలో మునిగిన జనులు; ప్రాయశ్చిత్తం లేనివారు, అగమ్యాగమనంలో (నిషిద్ధ సంబంధాలలో) రమించువారు—వారు ఘోర గతిని పొందుతారు।
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vainateya)
Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni
Concept: Inauspicious death, envy/malice, lack of expiation, and forbidden sexual conduct generate severe post-death repercussions.
Vedantic Theme: Karma is intensified by intention (dveṣa/asūyā) and by violation of dharma; purification (prāyaścitta) mitigates karmic obstruction.
Application: Cultivate non-envy, ethical sexuality, and timely atonement; address harmful patterns before death through confession, restraint, and reparative acts.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: instructional narration within preta account
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: durmaraṇa, pāpa-lists, and prāyaścitta necessity recur across sinner-catalog sections (theme-parallel)
FAQs
This verse highlights that living without prāyaścitta—i.e., not correcting or atoning for serious wrongdoing—intensifies negative karmic outcomes after death, especially when combined with persistent harmful conduct.
By listing envy, forbidden sexual conduct, and the absence of expiation alongside inauspicious death, the verse frames these as causes that worsen the preta-condition and invite harsher scrutiny and suffering in Yama’s order.
Avoid habitual envy and illicit conduct, and adopt sincere corrective practices—confession, restraint, restitution, and prescribed expiations—so that one’s life and death are aligned with dharma.