Shloka 25

Vṛṣotsarga as Prerequisite for Śrāddha: Eligibility, Timing, Purification, and the Urgency of Dharma

Devanagari script

यावत्स्वस्थमिदं शरीरमरुजं यावज्जरा दूरतो यावच्चेन्द्रियशक्तिरप्रतिहता यावत्क्षयो नायुषः / आत्मश्रेयसि तावदेव विदुषा कार्यः प्रयत्नो महान्सन्दीप्ते भवने तु कूपखननं प्रत्युद्यमः कीदृशः

Transliteration

yāvatsvasthamidaṃ śarīramarujaṃ yāvajjarā dūrato yāvaccendriyaśaktirapratihatā yāvatkṣayo nāyuṣaḥ / ātmaśreyasi tāvadeva viduṣā kāryaḥ prayatno mahānsandīpte bhavane tu kūpakhananaṃ pratyudyamaḥ kīdṛśaḥ

Translation

Chừng nào thân này còn khỏe mạnh, không bệnh tật; chừng nào tuổi già còn ở xa; chừng nào sức lực các căn còn không bị ngăn ngại; và chừng nào thọ mạng chưa suy giảm—chỉ đến khi ấy, bậc trí mới nên dốc đại nỗ lực vì lợi ích tối thượng của tự ngã. Nhà đã bốc cháy rồi, đào giếng còn ích gì?

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal condition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; काल-परिमाणवाचक (temporal limit marker: 'as long as')

• svastham: healthy
• svastham: Visheshana (Qualifier of śarīram)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svastha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (healthy)

• idam: this
• idam: Visheshana (Determiner of śarīram)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (this)

• śarīram: body
• śarīram: Adhikarana (Topic/conditioned entity)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• arujam: free from disease
• arujam: Visheshana (Qualifier of śarīram)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-ruj (नञ् + rujā/ruj प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नञ्-समासार्थ (painless, disease-free)

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal condition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; काल-परिमाणवाचक

• jarā: old age
• jarā: Karta (Subject of implied 'is far')
• Type: Noun
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dūrataḥ: far away
• dūrataḥ: Apadana/Adhikarana (Distance relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dūratas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादानार्थक/स्थानवाचक (from afar; at a distance)

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal condition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; काल-परिमाणवाचक

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• indriyaśaktiḥ: power of the senses
• indriyaśaktiḥ: Karta (Subject of implied 'is unobstructed')
• Type: Noun
• Root: indriya (प्रातिपदिक) + śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (indriyāṇāṃ śaktiḥ)

• apratihatā: unhindered
• apratihatā: Visheshana (Qualifier of indriyaśaktiḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-prati-hata (नञ् + कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (unobstructed)

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal condition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; काल-परिमाणवाचक

• kṣayaḥ: decline, loss
• kṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject of implied 'does not occur')
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• āyuṣaḥ: of life-span
• āyuṣaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation to kṣayaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• ātmaśreyasi: in one’s own welfare/supreme good
• ātmaśreyasi: Adhikarana (Locus/goal: in one’s highest good)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + śreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ātmanaḥ śreyas)

• tāvat: then/so long
• tāvat: Sambandha (Correlative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तावत्-परिमाणवाचक (then/so long)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis: only/indeed)

• viduṣā: by a wise man
• viduṣā: Karta (Agent of kāryaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidvas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक (by the wise person)

• kāryaḥ: must be done
• kāryaḥ: Pradhana (Predicate: obligation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kārya (कृदन्त, भाव्य/कर्तव्य)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तव्यतार्थक कृदन्त (gerundive: 'to be done')

• prayatnaḥ: effort
• prayatnaḥ: Karma (What is to be undertaken)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mahān: great
• mahān: Visheshana (Qualifier of prayatnaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• sandīpte: when (it is) burning
• sandīpte: Visheshana (Qualifier of bhavane)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-dīp (धातु) → sandīpta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (PPP: 'kindled/burning')

• bhavane: in the house
• bhavane: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (Contrast)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेष (but/indeed)

• kūpakhananam: digging a well
• kūpakhananam: Karma (Object implied: digging a well)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + khanana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (kūpasya khananam)

• pratyudyamaḥ: counter-effort, undertaking
• pratyudyamaḥ: Karta (Subject of kīdṛśaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati-ud-yam (धातु) → udyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kīdṛśaḥ: of what kind?/how (useful)?
• kīdṛśaḥ: Prashna-predicate (Interrogative predicate of pratyudyamaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kīdṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक विशेषण

Speaker

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

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Do sādhana for ātmā-śreyas while health, senses, and time remain; procrastination makes effort futile.

Vedantic Theme: Vairāgya and mumukṣutva; human birth as a rare opportunity; time (kāla) as devourer; pramāda (spiritual negligence) as downfall.

Application: Begin daily japa/adhyāyana/meditation and ethical discipline now; plan end-of-life rites and spiritual practice before illness/old age; treat health as a window for liberation-work, not as an end.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana (Preta-kalpa/Dharma-kāṇḍa): repeated exhortations to perform śrāddha, dāna, and Hari-smaraṇa before death; Garuda Purana: metaphors of ‘late effort’ being useless recur in dāna/śrāddha contexts

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Garuda

FAQs

What is the importance of timely spiritual effort (ātma-śreyas) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse urges that spiritual practice and dharmic living must be undertaken while health, senses, and lifespan remain strong; delaying until crisis or decline makes transformation difficult.

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

By stressing preparation before death, it supports the Purana’s broader teaching that one’s post-death journey and outcomes are shaped by prior conduct, merit, and inner readiness rather than last-minute remedies.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Begin regular dharma—ethical living, charity, mantra-japa, and remembrance of the Divine—now, not only during illness or old age, because late efforts are like digging a well after the house has caught fire.