Shloka 18

Manasa Progenitors, Pitṛ Orders, Dakṣa’s Alliances, and the Dakṣa-Yajña Rupture

Devanagari script

सुतपाः शुक्र इत्येते सर्वे सप्तर्षयो ऽमलाः / स्वाहां प्रादात्स दक्षो ऽपि शशरीराय वह्नये

Transliteration

sutapāḥ śukra ityete sarve saptarṣayo 'malāḥ / svāhāṃ prādātsa dakṣo 'pi śaśarīrāya vahnaye

Translation

สุตปาและศุกระ—นามดังนี้—ล้วนเป็นสัปตฤๅษีผู้บริสุทธิ์ และทักษะก็ได้มอบสวาหาเป็นชายาแก่วหฺนิ (อัคนี) ผู้ทรงกาย

Word by Word

• सुतपाः: Sutapās (name/group)
• सुतपाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (नाम/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sutapā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; proper name/group name

• शुक्रः: Śukra
• शुक्रः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (नाम/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śukra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; proper name (Śukra)

• इति: thus/so called
• इति: Sambandha/Quotation marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण-समाप्तिसूचक particle (quotative)

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; qualifying ete

• सप्तर्षयः: the seven sages
• सप्तर्षयः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (नाम/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sapta + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; समासः—द्विगु (सप्त ऋषयः)

• अमलाः: pure/spotless
• अमलाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; qualifying ete/saptarṣayaḥ

• स्वाहाम्: Svāhā (name)
• स्वाहाम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svāhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; object

• प्रादात्: gave
• प्रादात्: Kriya (क्रिया/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; pronoun

• दक्षः: Dakṣa
• दक्षः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानााधिकरण/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; proper noun

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (also/even)

• शशरीराय: to the embodied one
• शशरीराय: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/Dative recipient)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śa-śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th case), एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहि (यस्य शरीरं शम्/शशब्देन निर्दिष्टं—'having a body'); dative qualifying vahnaye

• वह्नये: to Agni (Fire)
• वह्नये: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th case), एकवचन; dative (to Agni)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Yajña functions through proper invocation (Svāhā) and the receiving principle (Agni); cosmic order is maintained by ritual correctness.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-kāṇḍa as a disciplined means within vyavahāra sustaining loka-saṅgraha; symbols point to inner offering of ego into awareness.

Application: In any offering—ritual or daily—pair intention (mantra/resolve) with the right medium/action; cultivate purity and precision.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: ritual-space

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.5.19 (Agni and Svāhā’s sons)

Characters & Entities

• Sutapā
• Śukra
• Saptarishis
• Dakṣa
• Svāhā
• Agni (Vahni)

FAQs

What is the importance of Svāhā in the Garuda Purana?

This verse presents Svāhā as a personified sacred offering-formula and as Agni’s consort, linking sacrificial invocation with the Fire-god’s role in carrying offerings.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

It does not directly describe the soul’s post-death journey; instead, it situates the narrative in Purāṇic cosmology and divine lineages that underpin ritual frameworks later used in death rites.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

It encourages reverence for Vedic ritual principles—especially the sanctity of offerings through Agni—supporting disciplined, dharmic conduct and mindful performance of rites.