Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 37

The Explanation of the Post-funeral Rites (Aurdhvadehika) and Related Matters

Devanagari script

द्वादश प्रतिमास्यानि श्राद्धमेकादशे तथा / त्रिपक्षसम्भवञ्चैव द्वे रिक्ते खग षोडश

Transliteration

dvādaśa pratimāsyāni śrāddhamekādaśe tathā / tripakṣasambhavañcaiva dve rikte khaga ṣoḍaśa

Translation

Có mười hai lễ śrāddha hằng tháng; lại có lễ śrāddha vào ngày thứ mười một; và các nghi thức liên hệ với ba kỳ nửa tháng (tripaḳṣa). Vì vậy, hỡi Chim Garuḍa, tổng cộng là mười sáu pháp hành, trong đó có hai lễ được gọi là “trống” theo quy tắc (tức không dâng cúng).

Word by Word

• dvādaśa: twelve
• dvādaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषण (numeral adjective), प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचन-नपुंसकलिङ्गे (agreeing with प्रतिमास्यानि)

• pratimāsyāni: monthly (rites) / those occurring each month
• pratimāsyāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati-māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन (Nominative Pl.); अव्ययीभाव-समास: प्रति + मास (each month)

• śrāddham: śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. Sg.)

• ekādaśe: on the eleventh (day/tithi)
• ekādaśe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी एकवचन (Locative Sg.), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (context: तिथौ/दिने implied)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपपद/समुच्चयार्थ (adverb: ‘likewise/also’)

• tri-pakṣa-sambhavam: that which occurs after three fortnights
• tri-pakṣa-sambhavam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sambhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. Sg.); तत्पुरुष-समास: त्रिपक्षस्य सम्भवम् (arising after three fortnights)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• dve: two
• dve: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषण; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया द्विवचन (Nom./Acc. Dual)

• rikte: empty/void (days)
• rikte: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rikta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया द्विवचन (agreeing with dve; ‘two empty (tithis/days)’)

• khaga: O bird (Garuda)
• khaga: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचन (Vocative Sg.)

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen
• ṣoḍaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषण; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन/बहुवचन (contextual; likely concluding count ‘sixteen’)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Shraddha Ritual

Ritual Type: Ekoddishta

Beneficiary: Pitr

Timing: Monthly cycle plus an eleventh-day observance and tri-pakṣa-related rites; two ‘rikta’ observances per rule.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Śrāddha is structured by fixed counts and timings; completeness and correct sequence matter.

Vedantic Theme: Karma-kāṇḍa as purifier and sustainer of ṛta/dharma; saṃskāra as ordering principle for saṃsāra.

Application: Maintain a śrāddha calendar: monthly observances, ekādaśī-related rite, and tri-pakṣa rites; note which are ‘rikta’ (without offering) per rule/tradition.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana, Pretakalpa: śrāddha-vidhi sections on ekoddiṣṭa/sapīṇḍīkaraṇa and monthly rites (contextual continuity around 2.35)

Characters & Entities

• Garuda
• Pitris

FAQs

What is the importance of monthly śrāddha in the Garuda Purana?

This verse counts the monthly śrāddhas as a structured set of rites meant to support and stabilize the departed’s post-death journey, showing that śrāddha is not a one-time act but a timed dharmic obligation.

What does the Garuda Purana indicate by the eleventh-day śrāddha (ekādaśāha)?

The verse highlights the eleventh-day śrāddha as a distinct, essential observance within the sequence of post-death rites, traditionally understood as a key milestone in preta-related ceremonies.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

If one follows śrāddha, this verse encourages doing it with timing and continuity—performing the core day-specific rite and the subsequent periodic remembrances with sincerity, charity, and ethical living as supportive dharma.