Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 49
The Preta’s Staged Journey to Yama’s City: Monthly Śrāddha Supports, Vaitaraṇī Crossing, and the Witnesses of Deeds
शुभाशुभं तु यत्कर्म ते विचार्य पुनः पुनः / श्रवणा ब्रह्मणः पुत्रा मनुष्याणां च चेष्टितम् / कथयन्ति तदा लोके पूजिताः पूजिताः स्वयम्
śubhāśubhaṃ tu yatkarma te vicārya punaḥ punaḥ / śravaṇā brahmaṇaḥ putrā manuṣyāṇāṃ ca ceṣṭitam / kathayanti tadā loke pūjitāḥ pūjitāḥ svayam
شُبھ و اَشُبھ اعمال کو بار بار پرکھ کر، برہما کے پُتر شروَن اُس لوک میں انسانوں کے چال چلن کا بیان کرتے ہیں؛ اور وہ خود بھی لائقِ تعظیم ہو کر معزز رکھے جاتے ہیں۔
Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: Karma is evaluated repeatedly and impartially; deeds become known and articulated by appointed cosmic witnesses.
Vedantic Theme: Karma as an objective law; the ‘witness’ motif externalized as cosmic auditors, mirroring the inner sākṣin principle.
Application: Act as if every deed will be reviewed and spoken aloud; cultivate transparency, repentance, and consistent virtue.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: court/assembly realm
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: Chitragupta’s record-keeping and Yama’s judgment (2.16.50); Other Pretakalpa passages on Yamadūtas and the reading of deeds (general)
FAQs
This verse highlights that deeds are repeatedly examined as auspicious or inauspicious, emphasizing that moral causality is carefully assessed before outcomes are declared.
It indicates an administrative-spiritual process in the afterlife where divine recorders (Śravaṇas) evaluate and publicly recount a person’s conduct, forming the basis for what follows in the post-death journey.
Live with consistent ethical discipline—since actions are portrayed as reviewable and accountable—prioritizing dharmic choices and avoiding harmful conduct.