Shloka 54

Praise of Vṛṣotsarga (Bull-release), Worthy Dāna, and the Procedure for Kṣayāha & Ūrdhva-daihika Rites

Devanagari script

संक्रान्तीनां सहस्राणि सूर्यपर्वशतानि च / दत्त्वा यत्फलमाप्नोति तद्वै नीलविसर्जने

Transliteration

saṃkrāntīnāṃ sahasrāṇi sūryaparvaśatāni ca / dattvā yatphalamāpnoti tadvai nīlavisarjane

Translation

ผลบุญที่ได้จากการให้ทานในวันสังกรานติพันครั้งและในวันเทศกาลสุริยะนับร้อยนั้น แท้จริงย่อมได้เท่ากันด้วยการประกอบพิธีถวายที่เรียกว่า ‘นีละ-วิสัรชนะ’

Word by Word

• संक्रान्तीनाम्: of (solar) transitions
• संक्रान्तीनाम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkrānti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (of the saṅkrāntis/solar transitions)

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; संख्या-शब्द (thousands)

• सूर्यपर्वशतानि: hundreds of solar occasions
• सूर्यपर्वशतानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūryaparvan (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: “hundreds of solar festivals/occasions”)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dattvā (कृदन्त; √dā दा, त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive: “having given”)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative: “which”)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• आप्नोति: attains
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√āp (आप्)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तद्-सम्बन्ध (that)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/अवधारण (emphatic particle: “indeed”)

• नीलविसर्जने: in the nīla-visarjana rite
• नीलविसर्जने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nīla (प्रातिपदिक) + visarjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-सम्भाव्य: “in the nīla-visarjana rite/act of releasing the blue [bull]”)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Shraddha Ritual

Timing: Saṅkrānti and sūrya-parva contexts; Nīla-visarjana performed as prescribed on an auspicious solar occasion

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Phala-sāmya: concentrated merit through a specific prescribed offering (Nīla-visarjana) equals many other meritorious gifts.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-kāṇḍa efficacy governed by śāstra-vidhi and saṅkalpa; sacred time amplifies action; intention and correct rite matter.

Application: If unable to perform repeated festival charities, perform the prescribed Nīla-visarjana correctly with faith, purity, and proper recipients.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: ritual occasion (saṅkrānti/sūrya-parva)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.14 (Nīla-visarjana described as high-merit rite; internal continuity with śrāddha/dāna phala statements).

Characters & Entities

• Surya
• Saṅkrānti
• Nīla-visarjana

FAQs

What is the importance of Nīla-visarjana in the Garuda Purana?

This verse states that Nīla-visarjana yields a merit comparable to giving donations across many major sacred solar occasions, highlighting it as a highly efficacious rite within Preta-related observances.

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

By stressing the extraordinary fruit of a specific rite, the verse supports the Garuda Purana theme that prescribed post-death rituals and donations aid the departed (preta) by generating merit and spiritual support during the transitional period.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Prioritize sincere, properly guided ritual giving (especially connected to ancestral and post-death rites) and complement it with ethical charity, treating such acts as concentrated means of accruing merit and offering support to the departed.