Shloka 97

Vṛṣotsarga (Bull-Release Gift): Procedure, Merit, and Narratives on Dharma, Karma, and Liberation

Devanagari script

अप्रमेयः स्वयञ्ज्योतिरग्राह्यो मनसापि यः / सच्चिदानन्दरूपो ऽसौ सर्वप्राणिहृदि स्थितः

Transliteration

aprameyaḥ svayañjyotiragrāhyo manasāpi yaḥ / saccidānandarūpo 'sau sarvaprāṇihṛdi sthitaḥ

Translation

พระองค์หาประมาณมิได้ ส่องสว่างด้วยตนเอง และแม้ด้วยใจก็มิอาจหยั่งถึง; พระองค์ทรงเป็นสัจจิตอานันทะ และสถิตอยู่ในดวงใจของสรรพสัตว์ทั้งปวง

Word by Word

• अप्रमेयः: immeasurable; beyond proof
• अप्रमेयः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-प्रमेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (masculine nominative singular adjective)

• स्वयम्: by itself; self-
• स्वयम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, आत्मवाचक (indeclinable: by oneself)

• ज्योतिः: light; luminosity
• ज्योतिः: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्योतिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (neuter nominative singular; in apposition)

• अग्राह्यः: not graspable
• अग्राह्यः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-ग्राह्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (masculine nominative singular adjective)

• मनसा: by the mind
• मनसा: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन (neuter instrumental singular)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अपि-निपात (even)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• सच्चिदानन्दरूपः: whose nature is being-consciousness-bliss
• सच्चिदानन्दरूपः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत् + चित् + आनन्द + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समाहार/कर्मधारय-प्रायः (सच्चिदानन्द एव रूपं यस्य) (masculine nominative singular adjective)

• असौ: that (one)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (demonstrative pronoun)

• सर्वप्राणिहृदि: in the heart of all beings
• सर्वप्राणिहृदि: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + प्राणि + हृद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सर्वेषां प्राणिनां हृदि) (locative singular)

• स्थितः: abiding; situated
• स्थितः: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Supreme/Ātman is immeasurable, self-luminous, beyond mental grasp, of the nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss, and present in the heart of all creatures.

Vedantic Theme: Nirguṇa Brahman/Ātman as svayaṃ-prakāśa; saccidānanda-svarūpa; immanence (sarva-prāṇi-hṛd-sthiti) with transcendence (aprameya).

Application: Practice inward attention (hṛdaya-dhyāna), neti-neti discernment of mind’s limits, and contemplation on saccidānanda; cultivate universal compassion grounded in the same Self in all.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: inner sanctum

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: mokṣa passages describing the self-luminous, immeasurable Reality dwelling in the heart; continuity with earlier Ātman epithets

Characters & Entities

• Supreme Self (Paramatman)
• All living beings (sarva-prāṇi)

FAQs

What is the importance of describing God as self-luminous (svayañ-jyotiḥ) in the Garuda Purana?

It teaches that the Supreme Self is not known through external objects but is self-revealing consciousness, the inner light by which all knowing is possible.

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

By emphasizing the indwelling Paramatman in every heart, it points the departed soul’s ultimate refuge beyond fear and transit—liberation comes through remembrance and realization of that inner Lord, not merely through external circumstances.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate daily remembrance—meditation on the heart-dwelling Self, ethical living, and devotion—so that awareness is steady in life and supportive at the time of death.