Shloka 83

Śrāddha as Trans-realm Nourishment; Pitṛ-Conveyance; Piṇḍa-born Body and the ātivāhika; Bhakti-based Release

Devanagari script

पिण्डजो यदि नैव स्याद्वायुजोर्ऽहति यातनाम् / देहिनो ऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा / तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिः पक्षीन्द्रेत्यवधारय

Transliteration

piṇḍajo yadi naiva syādvāyujor'hati yātanām / dehino 'sminyathā dehe kaumāraṃ yauvanaṃ jarā / tathā dehāntaraprāptiḥ pakṣīndretyavadhāraya

Translation

หากกายปิณฑชะไม่บังเกิด วายุชะย่อมเสวยความทรมาน. ดุจดังผู้มีชีวาในกายนี้มีวัยเด็ก วัยหนุ่ม และชรา ฉันนั้นการได้กายอื่นก็มี—โอราชาแห่งปักษา จงกำหนดให้แน่ชัด.

Word by Word

• पिण्डजः: the piṇḍa-born (body/being)
• पिण्डजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्डज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition/शर्त)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• एव: at all/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Restriction/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु) + विधिलिङ्
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• वायुजः: the wind-born (being)
• वायुजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अर्हति: deserves/is fit for
• अर्हति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अर्ह् (धातु) + लट्
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• यातनाम्: torment/punishment
• यातनाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यातना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• देहिनः: of the embodied one
• देहिनः: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देहिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘देहे’ इत्यर्थे

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparison/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (as/just as)

• देहे: in the body
• देहे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• कौमारम्: childhood
• कौमारम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौमार (प्रातिपदिक; कुमार + अण्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• यौवनम्: youth
• यौवनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यौवन (प्रातिपदिक; युवन् + अण्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• जरा: old age
• जरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तथा: so/likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Comparison/तथा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: तुल्यप्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (so/likewise)

• देहान्तरप्राप्तिः: attainment of another body
• देहान्तरप्राप्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह + अन्तर + प्राप्ति (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (देहान्तरस्य प्राप्तिः)

• पक्षीन्द्र: O lord of birds
• पक्षीन्द्र: Sambodhana (Address/संबोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्षीन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक; पक्षिन् + इन्द्र)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (पक्षिणाम् इन्द्रः)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/इत्यर्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय

• अवधारय: understand/ascertain
• अवधारय: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + √धृ (धातु) + लोट्
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni

Shraddha Ritual

Ritual Type: Ekoddishta

Beneficiary: Pitr

Timing: Daśāha period (by implication of preceding verse) and immediate post-death interval

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Neglect of piṇḍa support leads to suffering for the vāyu-born subtle being; transmigration is as natural as bodily stages (childhood-youth-old age), implying continuity of the jīva across embodiments.

Vedantic Theme: Saṃsāra and dehāntara-prāpti; continuity of the self amid changing upādhis; karma and auxiliary rites affecting the interim experience.

Application: Do not abandon post-death duties; also internalize the inevitability of change and cultivate detachment and ethical living to reduce future suffering.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: preta’s sufferings when śrāddha is omitted; later sections on remedies (dāna, śrāddha) for preta distress

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Dehin (embodied soul)
• Pinda (funeral offering)

FAQs

What is the importance of pinda-dana in the Garuda Purana?

This verse states that if the piṇḍa-born support (piṇḍaja) is not formed, the departed being may be forced into a vāyu-born condition that undergoes torment—highlighting piṇḍa-dāna as a stabilizing aid for the post-death journey.

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

It compares bodily change (childhood to old age) with dehāntara-prāpti—attaining another body—teaching that the soul continues through transitions, and that proper rites affect the condition in which it experiences the interim journey.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Perform ancestral rites with sincerity (as per family tradition and śāstric guidance), and live ethically with awareness that actions and duties influence one’s post-death condition and future embodiment.