Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 18
Vaitaraṇī: Torments of the Sinful, Sins Enumerated, and the Vaitaraṇī Go-dāna Rite
एते वसन्ति सततं मा विचारं कृथाः क्वचित् / कृपणो नास्तिकः क्षुद्रः स तस्यां निवसेत्खग
ete vasanti satataṃ mā vicāraṃ kṛthāḥ kvacit / kṛpaṇo nāstikaḥ kṣudraḥ sa tasyāṃ nivasetkhaga
“Những kẻ ấy luôn cư trú nơi đó—chớ bao giờ nghi ngờ. Kẻ keo kiệt, kẻ vô tín (nāstika), và kẻ lòng dạ ti tiện: chính hắn ở trong cảnh giới ấy, hỡi Chim (Garuda).”
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: Persistent inner dispositions (kṛpaṇatā, nāstikya, kṣudratā) anchor the jīva to painful states; do not doubt karmic certainty.
Vedantic Theme: Saṃskāra and vāsanā shape destiny; inner character is causal, not merely external ritual identity.
Application: Cultivate generosity, faith in moral causality (āstikya), and magnanimity; practice self-audit of motives and attitudes.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: assurances about naraka residences and certainty of Yama’s order (immediate context)
FAQs
This verse treats miserliness as a binding fault that leads one to an adverse post-death abode/condition, emphasizing dāna (charity) and generosity as protective dharma.
It indicates that specific moral qualities—like stinginess, denial of dharma (nāstikatā), and pettiness—determine where a being ‘dwells’ in the afterlife, reflecting karma-based allocation of post-mortem states.
Cultivate generosity, faith in ethical accountability, and largeness of mind; avoid habitual stinginess and contemptuous pettiness, since these traits are presented as karmically consequential.