Garuda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 14

Yuga-Dharma, Kalpa Measure, Purāṇa Definitions, and the Kali-Yuga Power of Nāma-Kīrtana

Devanagari script

सर्गश्च प्रतिसर्गश्च वंशो मन्वन्तराणि च / वंशानुचरितच्चैव पुराणं पञ्चलक्षणम्

Transliteration

sargaśca pratisargaśca vaṃśo manvantarāṇi ca / vaṃśānucaritaccaiva purāṇaṃ pañcalakṣaṇam

Translation

Ang paglikha at muling paglikha, ang mga salinlahi (ng mga deva at rishi), ang mga yugto ng mga Manu, at ang mga salaysay ng mga dinastiya—ang limang katangiang ito ang bumubuo sa tinatawag na Purāṇa.

Word by Word

• सर्गः: creation
• सर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• प्रतिसर्गः: re-creation
• प्रतिसर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रति- + सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• वंशः: lineage
• वंशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मन्वन्तराणि: Manvantaras (periods of Manus)
• मन्वन्तराणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मनूनाम् अन्तराणि)

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• वंशानुचरितत्: accounts of dynasties
• वंशानुचरितत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश + अनुचरित (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वंशानाम् अनुचरितम्)

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Discourse (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक

• पुराणम्: a Purāṇa
• पुराणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुराण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पञ्चलक्षणम्: having five characteristics
• पञ्चलक्षणम्: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च + लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास; विशेषण (of पुराणम्)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: A Purāṇa is defined by five marks: creation, dissolution/re-creation, lineages, manvantara cycles, and dynastic histories.

Vedantic Theme: Ordered knowledge (tattva-viveka through cosmology and time-cycles) as a preparatory framework for higher inquiry.

Application: When studying any Purāṇa, evaluate its structure by these five lakṣaṇas; use the framework to organize learning and teaching.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.223.15-16 (application: enumerating the 18 Purāṇas)

Characters & Entities

• Manus

FAQs

What is the importance of pañcalakṣaṇa (five marks) in the Garuda Purana?

It gives the formal criteria for identifying a text as a Purāṇa: it must teach creation, re-creation, lineages, Manvantara cycles, and dynastic histories.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by defining Purāṇic scope, it frames later teachings on karma, dharma, and afterlife within a larger cosmic timeline of creation and Manvantara order.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use it as a reading guide: when studying the Garuda Purana, connect ritual/ethical instructions to cosmology and dharma across time—seeing life and death within a structured moral universe.