Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 61
Explanation of the Sapiṇḍana Rite; Causes of Pretahood; Viṣṇu Worship and Preta-ghaṭa Dāna
श्रीभागवानुवाच / एवं संजल्षतस्तस्य प्रेतेन नियतात्मनः / सेनाजगामानुपदं हस्त्यश्वरथसंकुला
śrībhāgavānuvāca / evaṃ saṃjalṣatastasya pretena niyatātmanaḥ / senājagāmānupadaṃ hastyaśvarathasaṃkulā
شری بھگوان نے فرمایا—جب وہ ضبطِ نفس والا شخص پریت سے اس طرح گفتگو کر رہا تھا، تبھی ہاتھیوں، گھوڑوں اور رتھوں سے بھری ہوئی ایک فوج اس کے پیچھے پیچھے قریب آ پہنچی۔
Lord Vishnu (Śrī Bhagavān), narrating to Garuda (Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: road/pathway
Related Themes: Narrative continuation in Garuda Purana 2.27 (context: dialogue with a preta; ensuing events with an approaching army)
FAQs
It signals the arrival of an enforcing retinue—often understood as the forces connected with Yama’s administration—indicating that the preta’s journey is not solitary but governed and escorted under cosmic law.
By depicting a preta in dialogue and then an approaching armed retinue, the verse frames the post-death passage as an ordered process where the departed is accompanied, directed, and brought under the next stage of judgment or transit.
Live with self-discipline (niyata-ātmā) and perform appropriate death rites for ancestors; the text emphasizes that actions and dharma shape the post-death experience and its governance.