Shloka 23

Sṛṣṭi–Pratisṛṣṭi: Viṣṇu as Kāla and the Ninefold Creation Schema

Devanagari script

तमोमात्रा तनुस्त्यक्ता शङ्कराभूद्विभावरी / यक्षोपक्षांसि तद्देहे प्रीतिमापुस्ततः सुराः

Transliteration

tamomātrā tanustyaktā śaṅkarābhūdvibhāvarī / yakṣopakṣāṃsi taddehe prītimāpustataḥ surāḥ

Translation

جب محض تاریکی (تمس) سے بنی ہوئی تنُو ترک کی گئی تو رات مبارک و مَنگلکار (شَنکرا) بن گئی۔ اسی بدن سے یَکش اور اُپَیَکش پیدا ہوئے، پھر دیوتا خوشی کو پہنچے۔

Word by Word

• तमोमात्रा: consisting only of darkness
• तमोमात्रा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तमस् (प्रातिपदिक) + मात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (तमसः मात्रा)

• तनुः: body
• तनुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• त्यक्ता: abandoned/left
• त्यक्ता: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, भूतकर्मणि/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘त्यज्’ धातोः

• शङ्करा: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• शङ्करा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शङ्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (विसर्ग-लोपः पदान्ते)

• अभूत्: became
• अभूत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• विभावरी: night
• विभावरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यक्षोपक्षांसि: yakṣas and upakṣas
• यक्षोपक्षांसि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + उपक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (यक्षाश्च उपक्षाश्च)

• तत्: in that
• तत्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘देहे’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• देहे: in the body
• देहे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रीतिम्: delight
• प्रीतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रीति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• आपुः: attained
• आपुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• ततः: thereupon
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः—अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (from there/thereupon)

• सुराः: the gods
• सुराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Guṇa-based cosmogony: forms arise when a prior sheath/body is relinquished; darkness (tamas) conditions certain births and temporal powers.

Vedantic Theme: Prakṛti-guṇa pariṇāma (evolution of nature through guṇas) under cosmic order; names/forms arise from subtle causal states.

Application: Contemplate how mental ‘tamas’ yields certain tendencies; cultivate clarity to shift outcomes—use night for restraint, reflection, and sattvic practices.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.4.24-27 (guṇa-based emergence of Day, Sandhyā, humans, etc.)

Characters & Entities

• Vibhavari (Night)
• Yakshas
• Upakshas
• Suras (Devas)

FAQs

What is the importance of tamas (darkness) in this Garuda Purana verse?

It presents tamas as a primal constituent whose discarded “dark-form” becomes a source for specific classes of beings, showing how creation unfolds through transformations of guṇas.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

It does not describe the soul’s post-death journey here; instead, it situates the broader Purāṇic framework of cosmology—how beings and realms arise—within which later afterlife teachings are understood.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use it as a reminder to transform tamas (inertia, ignorance) into śaṅkara—auspicious conduct—by cultivating clarity, discipline, and dharmic habits.