Shloka 41

The Preta’s Staged Journey to Yama’s City: Monthly Śrāddha Supports, Vaitaraṇī Crossing, and the Witnesses of Deeds

Devanagari script

दशैकमासिकं भुक्त्वा पयोवर्षणमृच्छति / मेघास्तत्र प्रवर्षन्ति प्रेतानां दुः खदायकाः

Transliteration

daśaikamāsikaṃ bhuktvā payovarṣaṇamṛcchati / meghāstatra pravarṣanti pretānāṃ duḥ khadāyakāḥ

Translation

เมื่อได้รับส่วนทานจากศราทธะรายเดือนครบสิบและสิบเอ็ดแล้ว เปรตย่อมไปถึงฝนแห่งน้ำนม ที่นั่นเมฆโปรยปรายลงมา แต่เมฆเหล่านั้นกลับเป็นเหตุให้เปรตทั้งหลายได้รับทุกข์

Word by Word

• दशैकमासिकम्: the eleven-month (period/rite)
• दशैकमासिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश + एक + मासिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (दश+एक=एकादश; एकादश-मासिकम्)

• भुक्त्वा: having eaten/partaken
• भुक्त्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; धातु: भुज् (भोजन)

• पयः-वर्षणम्: rain of milk
• पयः-वर्षणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयस् (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पयसो वर्षणम्)

• ऋच्छति: attains/reaches
• ऋच्छति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ऋच्छ्/ऋ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मेघाः: clouds
• मेघाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• प्रवर्षन्ति: rain down
• प्रवर्षन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्; उपसर्ग: प्र-

• प्रेतानाम्: of the departed spirits (pretas)
• प्रेतानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• दुःखदायकाः: causing sorrow
• दुःखदायकाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + दायक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (दुःखं ददाति इति)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Shraddha Ritual

Beneficiary: Pitr

Timing: After completion of ten-and-one monthly rites (11 मासिक-श्राद्ध)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even seemingly auspicious phenomena can become painful for the preta when karmic conditions are adverse; śrāddha sustenance is mediated by the soul’s karmic fitness.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-phala and the conditioned experience of the jīva in subtle states (preta-avasthā) prior to adjudication.

Application: Perform monthly śrāddha with care and continuity; cultivate merit and sattva in life so post-mortem supports are received as relief rather than distress.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Geographic Context

Type: otherworldly region/zone of precipitation

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: monthly śrāddha sequence and preta’s progressive stations (context around 2.16.1–2.16.60); Garuda Purana: descriptions of preta’s dependence on offerings and the transformation of enjoyments into sufferings under pāpa

Characters & Entities

• Pretas

FAQs

What is the importance of monthly śrāddha (māsika) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse links the preta’s post-death experience directly to the sequence of monthly rites—showing that māsika offerings are understood to tangibly shape what the preta ‘receives’ and undergoes on the way.

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

It depicts the preta as moving through specific experiential states conditioned by rites; even seemingly pleasant imagery (a ‘rain of milk’) can turn painful for pretas, reflecting the unstable, vulnerable nature of the preta-condition.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Perform post-death rites with care and continuity (as per one’s tradition), and live ethically—since the text frames the after-death condition as sensitive to both ritual support and the being’s karmic susceptibility to suffering.