Shloka 20

Brahmā’s Curse, Four Births, and the Dharma of Shared Embodiment

Draupadī/Kṛṣṇā

Devanagari script

चतुर्थजन्मन्यप्येवं द्वितीये जन्मनि प्रभो / समाप्स्यथान्यगात्वं चेत्येवं शप्ता ह भामिनि

Transliteration

caturthajanmanyapyevaṃ dvitīye janmani prabho / samāpsyathānyagātvaṃ cetyevaṃ śaptā ha bhāmini

Translation

“ข้าแต่พระผู้เป็นเจ้า แม้ในชาติที่สี่ และในชาติที่สองด้วย—หากท่านยังทำให้สำเร็จซึ่ง ‘ภาวะเป็นอื่น’ (รูปที่แปรเปลี่ยน) จริง,” นางผู้เร่าร้อนนั้นจึงกล่าวคำสาปดังนี้

Word by Word

• चतुर्थ-जन्मनि: in the fourth birth
• चतुर्थ-जन्मनि: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्थ (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘चतुर्थस्य जन्म’)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (also/even)

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Prakara (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (thus/in this manner)

• द्वितीये: in the second
• द्वितीये: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; विशेषणम् ‘जन्मनि’

• जन्मनि: in (a) birth
• जन्मनि: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• प्रभो: O lord
• प्रभो: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (vocative), एकवचन

• समाप्स्यथ: you will fully attain/complete
• समाप्स्यथ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आप् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• अन्य-गात्वम्: a different state/other-bodiedness
• अन्य-गात्वम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक) + गात्व (प्रातिपदिक; भाव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘अन्यस्य गात्वम्’ = other-bodiedness/other state)

• चेत्: if
• चेत्: Sambandha (शर्त)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत् (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle ‘if’)

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Prakara (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय

• शप्ताः: cursed
• शप्ताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शप् (धातु) → शप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त

• ह: indeed
• ह: Sambandha (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/indeed)

• भामिनि: O passionate/angry lady
• भामिनि: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भामिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (as quoted speech of a bhāminī, an angry/passionate woman, issuing a curse)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Rebirth can be structured across multiple lives by powerful intentions/utterances; transformation (‘anyagatva’) is framed as a karmic condition.

Vedantic Theme: Continuity of saṃskāra across births; conditionality of embodied states; agency and consequence intertwined under cosmic law.

Application: Be cautious with vows, threats, and emotionally charged commitments; cultivate clarity before making life-shaping decisions.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana narrative passages where conditions across births are specified through śāpa/vara (curse/boon)

Characters & Entities

• Prabhu (Lord)

FAQs

What is the importance of rebirth (punarjanma) in this Garuda Purana verse?

The verse frames destiny across multiple births, implying that consequences—here expressed as a curse—can extend into later incarnations and culminate in a decisive transformation (anyagātva).

How does this verse explain the path of the soul across lifetimes?

By referencing “second” and “fourth” births, it suggests continuity of karmic threads across incarnations, where a specific outcome may ripen later rather than immediately.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat speech and anger as karmically weighty: avoid harmful vows/words, practice restraint and reconciliation, and cultivate actions that do not bind future suffering across lifetimes.