Shloka 37

Karma, Varṇa-Dharma, and Dāna as the Soul’s True Companion on the Path to Yama

Devanagari script

एवं गणास्ते ब्रुवते सकिन्नरा धैर्यं समालम्ब्य विपादपूरितः / श्रुत्वा गणानां वचनं महाद्भुतं ब्रवीति पक्षीन्द्र मनुष्यतां गतः

Transliteration

evaṃ gaṇāste bruvate sakinnarā dhairyaṃ samālambya vipādapūritaḥ / śrutvā gaṇānāṃ vacanaṃ mahādbhutaṃ bravīti pakṣīndra manuṣyatāṃ gataḥ

Translation

یوں کِنّروں سمیت وہ گن بولے۔ تب پرندوں کا سردار، غم سے بھرا ہوا بھی حوصلہ تھام کر، گنوں کے وہ نہایت عجیب کلمات سن کر، انسانی حالت اختیار کرکے جواب دینے لگا۔

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: thus)

• gaṇāḥ: groups/attendants
• gaṇāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (गण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• te: those
• te: Karta (कर्ता; apposition to gaṇāḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक, सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संकेत-सर्वनाम

• bruvate: speak/say
• bruvate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (ब्रू-धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• sa-kinnarāḥ: together with Kinnaras
• sa-kinnarāḥ: Karta (कर्ता; qualifier of gaṇāḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa (स-प्रातिपदिक/उपसर्गार्थ ‘सहित’) + kinnara (किन्नर-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सह-तत्पुरुष (kinnaraiḥ saha), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• dhairyam: courage/steadfastness
• dhairyam: Karma (कर्म/object of samālambya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhairya (धैर्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• samālambya: having taken hold of
• samālambya: Kriya (क्रिया; पूर्वकालिक)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√lamb (सम्+आ+लम्ब्-धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), ‘having grasped/held on to’

• vipāda-pūritaḥ: filled with calamities
• vipāda-pūritaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; predicate adjective to implied subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vipad (विपद्-प्रातिपदिक) + pūrita (पूरित-प्रातिपदिक; √pṝ/√pūr क्त)
• Form: तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (vipadbhiḥ/vipadasya pūritaḥ), क्त-कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriya (क्रिया; पूर्वकालिक)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु-धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): ‘having heard’

• gaṇānām: of the groups
• gaṇānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (गण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• vacanam: speech/statement
• vacanam: Karma (कर्म/object of śrutvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacana (वचन-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mahā-adbhutam: very wonderful
• mahā-adbhutam: Karma (कर्म; qualifier of vacanam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (महा-प्रातिपदिक) + adbhuta (अद्भुत-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (mahac ca tad adbhutam), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• bravīti: says
• bravīti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (ब्रू-धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• pakṣīndra: O king of birds
• pakṣīndra: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣin (पक्षिन्-प्रातिपदिक) + indra (इन्द्र-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (pakṣiṇām indraḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• manuṣyatām: human state/humanness
• manuṣyatām: Karma (कर्म/object of gataḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣyatā (मनुष्यता-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• gataḥ: having attained/gone to
• gataḥ: Karta (कर्ता; subject: he who has attained)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gata (गत-प्रातिपदिक; √gam (गम्-धातु) क्त)
• Form: क्त-कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि-प्रयोगे ‘gone/attained’

Speaker

Narrator (describing Garuda’s response after hearing the gaṇas)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Dhairya (steadfast courage) in receiving truth; receptivity to wise counsel as a dharmic virtue.

Vedantic Theme: Śravaṇa (hearing) as the first step toward transformation; the mind steadied becomes fit for higher instruction.

Application: When confronted with hard truths, stabilize the mind (breath, prayer, reflection) and respond thoughtfully rather than reactively.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.48 narrative frame: hosts (gaṇāḥ) instructing; Garuḍa’s response as transition to further teaching (contextual)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda (Pakshindra)
• Ganas
• Kinnaras

FAQs

What is the importance of courage (dhairya) in the Garuda Purana’s afterlife teachings?

This verse highlights dhairya as the inner support that allows one to face fear and distress while receiving instruction—an attitude essential for understanding the Purana’s teachings on death, subtle states, and post-death journey.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul in the Garuda Purana narrative?

While not detailing the soul’s route directly, it situates the teaching in a crisis-and-instruction frame: Garuda, distressed, listens to extraordinary guidance from celestial attendants—mirroring how the departed must hear and follow guiding principles amid post-death uncertainty.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate steadiness under pressure—listen carefully before reacting, and respond from clarity rather than panic; this supports ethical decisions (dharma) during life’s transitions, including rites and duties around death.