Shloka 77

Jvara-Nidāna-Lakṣaṇa: Causes, Doṣic Types, Āma/Nirāma Stages, and Prognosis of Fever

Devanagari script

प्रलिम्पन्निव गात्राणि श्लेष्मणा गौरवेण च / मन्दज्वरप्रलापस्तु सशीतः स्यात्प्रलेपकः

Transliteration

pralimpanniva gātrāṇi śleṣmaṇā gauraveṇa ca / mandajvarapralāpastu saśītaḥ syātpralepakaḥ

Translation

เมื่อแขนขารู้สึกราวกับถูกทาด้วยคราบ มีความหนักอึ้งเพราะเสมหะ และมีคำพูดเพ้อจากไข้ไม่แรงพร้อมอาการหนาวสั่น—ภาวะนี้เรียกว่า “ปรเลปกะ” (pralepaka)

Word by Word

• प्रलिम्पन्: smearing / as if smeared
• प्रलिम्पन्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√lip (धातु) → pralimpant (कृदन्त, शतृ)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचन (विशेषणरूपेण) — Present active participle (śatṛ), masculine nominative singular (used adjectivally)

• इव: as if
• इव: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय — indeclinable of comparison

• गात्राणि: limbs
• गात्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन — neuter, nominative plural

• श्लेष्मणा: by phlegm
• श्लेष्मणा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śleṣman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — neuter, instrumental singular

• गौरवेण: by heaviness
• गौरवेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaurava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — neuter, instrumental singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय — coordinating conjunction

• मन्दज्वरप्रलापः: delirium of mild fever
• मन्दज्वरप्रलापः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manda (प्रातिपदिक) + jvara (प्रातिपदिक) + pralāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — masculine, nominative singular; समासः: (मन्दः ज्वरः) इति कर्मधारय-तत्पुरुषः, ततः (मन्दज्वरस्य प्रलापः) इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः — tatpuruṣa compound

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषण-अव्यय — particle (but/indeed)

• सशीतः: with chills/cold
• सशीतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa- (उपसर्ग/सह) + śīta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — masculine, nominative singular; समासः: सह शीतम्/शीतः इति ‘स’ उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (सहितार्थ) — with cold

• स्यात्: would be / is said to be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — optative, 3rd person singular

• प्रलेपकः: (a fever type) Pralepaka
• प्रलेपकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pralepaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — masculine, nominative singular

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Medical Ayurveda

Dosha: Kapha

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Roga-lakshana-nirnaya (diagnosis by signs): identifying a fever subtype through observable symptoms.

Vedantic Theme: Deha as vyadhi-ashraya (the body as a locus of change); cultivating viveka through accurate knowledge of phenomena.

Application: Use symptom-clusters (phlegm-heaviness, coated feeling, mild fever with chills, delirious speech) to distinguish pralepaka from other jvara types and seek timely care.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.147 (jvara-bheda/lakshana section; adjacent verses 1.147.78–81)

FAQs

What is the importance of pralepaka in the Garuda Purana?

This verse defines pralepaka as a recognizable bodily-mental condition—heaviness from phlegm with mild fever, chills, and delirious speech—used in the text’s catalog of serious signs that indicate bodily decline and the approach of death-related transitions.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by describing a terminal-like state (pralepaka), it frames the moment when the embodied condition deteriorates, which in the Garuda Purana narrative precedes the soul’s separation from the body and the subsequent after-death journey described elsewhere in the Preta Kanda.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat it as a prompt for timely care and preparedness: seek medical attention for such symptoms, and—if decline is evident—support the person with calm surroundings, remembrance practices, and orderly planning for rites according to one’s tradition.