Shloka 19

Moksha and Svarga through Dāna, Tīrtha, Nāma-smaraṇa, and Bhāva

Devanagari script

गोग्रहे देशविध्वंसे मरणं रणतीर्थयोः / उत्तमाधममध्यस्य बाध्यमानस्य देहिनः / आत्मानं तत्र सन्त्यज्य स्वर्गवासं लभेच्चिरम्

Transliteration

gograhe deśavidhvaṃse maraṇaṃ raṇatīrthayoḥ / uttamādhamamadhyasya bādhyamānasya dehinaḥ / ātmānaṃ tatra santyajya svargavāsaṃ labhecciram

Translation

หากสัตว์ผู้มีชีวิต—ไม่ว่าชั้นสูง ต่ำ หรือปานกลาง—สิ้นชีวิตด้วยเหตุจำยอมในคอกโค ในคราวแผ่นดินพินาศ หรือในสนามรบหรือ ณ ตีรถะ แล้วละสังขาร ณ ที่นั้น ย่อมได้พำนักในสวรรค์เป็นเวลายาวนาน

Word by Word

• gograhe: In the seizure of cows
• gograhe: Adhikarana (Location/Context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go + graha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular, Masculine

• deśavidhvaṃse: In the destruction of the country
• deśavidhvaṃse: Adhikarana (Location/Context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa + vidhvaṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular, Masculine

• maraṇam: Death
• maraṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular, Neuter

• raṇatīrthayoḥ: In battle or pilgrimage
• raṇatīrthayoḥ: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raṇa + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Dual, Neuter

• uttamādhamamadhyasya: Of the high, low, or middle (person)
• uttamādhamamadhyasya: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama + adhama + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular, Masculine

• bādhyamānasya: Being afflicted/oppressed
• bādhyamānasya: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bādh (बाध् धातु)
• Form: Shanach Pratyaya (Present Passive Participle), Genitive, Singular, Masculine

• dehinaḥ: Of the embodied soul/person
• dehinaḥ: Sambandha (Relation/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dehin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular, Masculine

• ātmānam: Self/Life
• ātmānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular, Masculine

• tatra: There/In that situation
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb

• santyajya: Having abandoned/sacrificed
• santyajya: Purvakalika Kriya (Prior Action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam + tyaj (त्यज् धातु)
• Form: Lyap Pratyaya (Gerund/Absolutive)

• svargavāsam: Residence in heaven
• svargavāsam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga + vāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular, Masculine

• labhet: Obtains/Should obtain
• labhet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (लभ् धातु)
• Form: Vidhilin Lakara (Potential Mood), Prathama Purusha (3rd), Eka Vachana (Singular)

• ciram: For a long time
• ciram: Kriyavisheshana (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adverb

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue with Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Svarga

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Circumstance of death can shape post-mortem fruit; dying in battle or at a tīrtha, or under overwhelming calamity, yields prolonged svarga-vāsa.

Vedantic Theme: Merit (puṇya) yields finite heavenly enjoyment; status distinctions (uttama/madhyama/adhama) are overridden by the karmic potency of certain contexts.

Application: Cultivate readiness for dharmic courage and pilgrimage-mindedness; in crises, maintain remembrance of dharma/Viṣṇu and avoid panic-driven adharma.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: vira

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: multiple (pastoral shelter / disaster zone / battlefield / pilgrimage ford)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: tīrtha-mahātmyas and death-at-tīrtha as svarga-bestowing; Garuda Purana: raṇa-maraṇa praised akin to vīra-gati in dharma narratives

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Svarga
• Tirtha

FAQs

What is the importance of dying in battle or at a tīrtha according to the Garuda Purana?

This verse states that death occurring in battle or at a sacred pilgrimage ford is treated as highly meritorious, leading to a long stay in Svarga (heaven).

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

It links the soul’s post-death destination to the circumstance and place of death: abandoning the body in certain intense or sacred contexts (war, tīrtha, calamity) results in attaining heavenly residence.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Honor dharmic courage and sacred living: seek holy association and pilgrimage with right conduct, and cultivate readiness to face hardship ethically, since intention, context, and dharma shape karmic outcomes.