Garuda Purana — Moksha Sadhana Prakarana, Shloka 17

An Exposition of the Distinctions of Creation, Inert Matter, and the Lord

Devanagari script

राशिभूतं गुणानां तु दर्शयिष्ये स्थितिं च वै / राशीभूतस्य तसमः सकाशाद्विनतासुत

Transliteration

rāśibhūtaṃ guṇānāṃ tu darśayiṣye sthitiṃ ca vai / rāśībhūtasya tasamaḥ sakāśādvinatāsuta

Translation

Ta sẽ giảng rõ trạng thái hợp tụ của các guṇa và cách chúng an trụ. Hỡi con của Vinatā (Garuda), hãy nghe từ ta về điều được kết thành một khối hợp tụ ấy.

Word by Word

• rāśi-bhūtam: aggregated, in a mass
• rāśi-bhūtam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rāśi (प्रातिपदिक) + bhū (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘become a mass/aggregate’

• guṇānām: of the guṇas
• guṇānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; emphasis/contrast

• darśayiṣye: I will show
• darśayiṣye: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: darśaya (णिजन्त from dṛś धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• sthitim: state/condition
• sthitim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthiti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• vai: indeed
• vai: Nिश्चय (निश्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-निपात (indeed/emphatic particle)

• rāśī-bhūtasya: of the aggregated (state/entity)
• rāśī-bhūtasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāśī (प्रातिपदिक) + bhū (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक-सम्भव, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘of that which has become an aggregate’

• tasamaḥ: equal/similar
• tasamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tasama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; comparative-like form ‘equal/similar’ (textual form; often ‘tatsamaḥ’)

• sakāśāt: from/near (the presence of)
• sakāśāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sakāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; ‘from the presence/near’

• vinatā-suta: O son of Vinatā (Garuḍa)
• vinatā-suta: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vinatā (प्रातिपदिक) + suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; ‘son of Vinatā’

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Rāśi-bhāva (aggregation) of guṇas and their ‘sthiti’ (modes/situations) as an analyzable doctrine.

Vedantic Theme: Analytic enumeration (Sāṅkhya-like) used as a ladder toward discerning the Self distinct from guṇa-constituted phenomena.

Application: Observe experience as guṇa-composites (moods, impulses, clarity) and track their ‘situations’ to reduce identification and improve discernment.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.4.18-20 (doubling of rajas/sattva; prakṛti as source)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda (Vinata-suta)
• Guṇas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas)

FAQs

What is the importance of the guṇas in Garuda Purana?

This verse signals a formal teaching: understanding the guṇas in their combined (aggregated) condition is presented as foundational for grasping how states of mind and the world’s constitution arise.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by introducing guṇa-composition, it prepares the framework used in Purāṇic philosophy to explain how tendencies (sattva/rajas/tamas) shape conduct, karma, and thus the soul’s post-death trajectory.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Observe which guṇa predominates in your choices—clarity (sattva), restlessness (rajas), or inertia (tamas)—and cultivate sattva through disciplined living, truthful speech, and mindful conduct.