Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 26

Entry into Yama’s Abode; Nature, Causes, and Signs of the Preta-State

Devanagari script

सुवृष्टौ कृषिनाशश्च व्यवहारो विनश्यति / लोके कलहकारी च सा पीडा प्रेतसम्भवा

Transliteration

suvṛṣṭau kṛṣināśaśca vyavahāro vinaśyati / loke kalahakārī ca sā pīḍā pretasambhavā

Translation

اچھی بارش کے باوجود فصلوں کی تباہی، کاروبار کا برباد ہونا اور لوگوں میں جھگڑے ہونا، یہ پریت سے پیدا ہونے والی تکلیف ہے۔

Word by Word

• सुवृष्टौ: in good rainfall
• सुवृष्टौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु + वृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः: सु-वृष्टौ (कर्मधारय: शोभना वृष्टिः)

• कृषि: of agriculture/cultivation
• कृषि: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन (समासाङ्ग)

• नाशः: destruction (of crops)
• नाशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः: कृषि-नाशः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: कृषेः नाशः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• व्यवहारः: commerce/transactions
• व्यवहारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यवहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• विनश्यति: perishes/gets ruined
• विनश्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि+नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• कलहकारी: causing quarrel
• कलहकारी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कलह + कारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः: कलह-कारी (तत्पुरुष: कलहं करोति)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• सा: that
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (सर्वनाम)

• पीडा: affliction
• पीडा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीडा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• प्रेतसम्भवा: arising from a preta
• प्रेतसम्भवा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रेत + सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

Speaker

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

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Preta-affliction can manifest as collective disturbances—ruined agriculture despite rain, breakdown of transactions, and quarrels.

Vedantic Theme: Interconnectedness of adharma and loka-vyavahara; subtle causes (adrishta) producing visible effects.

Application: Address social conflict with dharmic reconciliation; restore ritual order and community ethics; perform protective rites and shraddha where tradition prescribes to pacify preta-related disturbances.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: settlement

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: descriptions of preta-pida affecting households and communities; omens and disturbances attributed to pretas

Characters & Entities

• Pretas

FAQs

What does this Garuda Purana verse say about preta-sambhavā pīḍā?

It states that certain disruptive sufferings—like crop loss even during heavy rains and the collapse of normal social dealings—are described as afflictions arising from a preta (restless departed spirit).

How does this verse connect afterlife conditions with worldly events?

It links the unsettled state of a preta to tangible disturbances in human life—economic disorder (vyavahāra-nāśa) and social conflict (kalaha)—showing an interaction between post-death unrest and communal harmony.

What is a practical takeaway from this verse for daily life and dharma?

Maintain social harmony and dharmic order, and when persistent unexplained discord or disruption is felt, follow traditional śrāddha/ancestral rites and ethical living to support peace for the departed and stability for the living.