Shloka 5

Vāstu-pūjā, Vāstu-maṇḍala Deities, Site Computations, and Doorway/Tree Prescriptions

Devanagari script

पूषा च वितथश्चैव ग्रहक्षेत्रयमावुभौ / गन्धर्वो भृगुराजस्तु मृगः पितृगणस्तथा

Transliteration

pūṣā ca vitathaścaiva grahakṣetrayamāvubhau / gandharvo bhṛgurājastu mṛgaḥ pitṛgaṇastathā

Translation

又有普沙（Pūṣā）与维塔他（Vitatha），并有摄取者格罗诃（Graha）与守域者刹特罗（Kṣetra）二神，以及二位阎摩（Yama）；同样还有乾闼婆（Gandharva）、婆利古王（Bhṛgurāja）、摩利伽（Mṛga，鹿神）与诸祖灵皮特利（Pitṛ）之众。

Word by Word

• पूषा: Pūṣā
• पूषा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूषन्/पूषा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• वितथः: Vitatha
• वितथः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वितथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphasis)

• ग्रह-क्षेत्र-यमौ: Graha and Kṣetra and Yama (the two among them)
• ग्रह-क्षेत्र-यमौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्वसमास (समुच्चय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; ‘...आवुभौ’ इति सह प्रयोगः

• उभौ: both
• उभौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उभ (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन

• गन्धर्वः: Gandharva
• गन्धर्वः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• भृगु-राजः: king of the Bhṛgus
• भृगु-राजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृगु (प्रातिपदिक) + राज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (भृगूणां राजा), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक अव्यय (but/indeed)

• मृगः: Mṛga
• मृगः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पितृ-गणः: the group of Pitṛs (ancestors)
• पितृ-गणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + गण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (पितॄणां गणः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारार्थक/समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (thus/also)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vainateya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Space is protected not only by gods of nature but by moral law (Yama) and ancestral order (Pitṛs); prosperity (Pūṣā) depends on truth and right boundaries.

Vedantic Theme: Interdependence of adhibhautika (territory), adhidaivika (deities), and adhyātmika (ethical restraint) for harmony.

Application: Honor boundaries and communal ethics; include ancestral remembrance in domestic/temple rites; treat land/field (kṣetra) as sacred stewardship.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: architectural/territorial guardianship schema

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.46.3–1.46.6 (continuing āvaraṇa list; Yama-related names foreshadow punitive administration)

Characters & Entities

• Pūṣā
• Vitatha
• Graha
• Kṣetra
• Yama (dual)
• Gandharva
• Bhṛgurāja
• Mṛga
• Pitṛgaṇa (Pitṛs)

FAQs

What is the importance of the Pitṛgaṇa (Pitṛs) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse explicitly includes the Pitṛgaṇa among revered cosmic beings, reinforcing that ancestors occupy an honored place in dharmic order and are central to śrāddha-related remembrance and obligations.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

By naming Pitṛs and Yama-related figures together with other divine beings, the verse situates after-death themes within a wider cosmic administration—where ancestral realms and Yama’s domain are part of the structured moral universe.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Maintain pitṛ-dharma through gratitude and ethical living, and—where appropriate in one’s tradition—observe śrāddha/tarpaṇa with sincerity, acknowledging the ancestral dimension of duty.