Shloka 61

Dharma–Adharma Marks; Daśāha, Piṇḍa Formation, Śrāddha Calendar, Śayyā-dāna, and Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa Rules

Devanagari script

मानुषस्य शरीरे तु विद्यते ह्यस्थिसञ्चयः / तत्संख्यः सर्वदेहेषु षष्ट्यधिकशतत्रयम्

Transliteration

mānuṣasya śarīre tu vidyate hyasthisañcayaḥ / tatsaṃkhyaḥ sarvadeheṣu ṣaṣṭyadhikaśatatrayam

Translation

ในกายมนุษย์มีหมู่กระดูกอยู่จริง และจำนวนกระดูกในกายทั้งปวงกล่าวว่าเป็นสามร้อยหกสิบ (360).

Word by Word

• mānuṣasya: of a human
• mānuṣasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana; genitive

• śarīre: in the body
• śarīre: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsaka, Saptamī, Ekavacana; locative

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (विरोध/अन्वय)

• vidyate: exists/is found
• vidyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (present/लट्), Prathama puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana; ātmanepada; existential ‘is found’

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निश्चय/हेतु)

• asthi-sañcayaḥ: a collection of bones
• asthi-sañcayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asthi (प्रातिपदिक) + sañcaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: asthīnām sañcayaḥ ‘collection of bones’

• tat-saṃkhyaḥ: its number
• tat-saṃkhyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: tasya saṃkhyaḥ ‘its number’

• sarva-deheṣu: in all bodies
• sarva-deheṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī, Bahuvacana; karmadhāraya: sarveṣu deheṣu ‘in all bodies’

• ṣaṣṭi-adhika-śata-trayam: three hundred and sixty
• ṣaṣṭi-adhika-śata-trayam: Vidheyapūraka (विधेयपूरक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + adhika (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; numerical compound phrase: ‘three hundreds increased by sixty’ (= 360)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Śarīra-jñāna used to ground ritual logic: the body’s bony structure is enumerated as 360.

Vedantic Theme: Body as perishable assemblage (saṅghāta) distinct from the self; knowledge of constituents supports vairāgya and right ritual understanding.

Application: Use the teaching as contemplative aid: reflect on bodily composition and impermanence; in ritual discourse, connect offerings to the departed’s subtle reconstruction as described in adjacent verses.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.34.62 linking kumbha offering to nourishment of ‘bones’; Garuda Purana discussions of preta-body formation through piṇḍa/udaka in śrāddha sections

Characters & Entities

• Humans

FAQs

What is the importance of the number of bones (360) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse states a traditional Purāṇic/Vedic enumeration of the skeletal aggregate as 360, used as part of the Garuda Purana’s didactic description of the human body in the Preta-kāṇḍa context.

How does this verse relate to the soul’s journey after death in the Garuda Purana?

By detailing the physical body’s constituents, the text sets a contrast between the perishable gross body (including bones) and the post-death condition described elsewhere, where the departed experiences results of karma beyond the body’s decay.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

It encourages detachment from mere bodily identity and supports ethical living and mindful performance of rites by remembering the body is a finite structure while dharma and karma shape one’s after-death experience.