Shloka 28
Means to Liberation: Supremacy of Hari, Proper Salutations, and Purāṇic Authority
इहेव भुञ्जन्ति महच्च दुः खं महापदः कुष्ठभगन्दरादीन् / नमन्ति ये ऽवैष्णवान्ब्रह्मरुद्रवायु प्रतीकान्नैव ते विष्णुभक्ताः
iheva bhuñjanti mahacca duḥ khaṃ mahāpadaḥ kuṣṭhabhagandarādīn / namanti ye 'vaiṣṇavānbrahmarudravāyu pratīkānnaiva te viṣṇubhaktāḥ
即在此生，他们亦受极重苦楚——如麻风（kuṣṭha）、肛瘘（bhagandara）等大患与诸般重病。凡向非毗湿奴派者顶礼，且以梵天、鲁陀罗或风神伐由（Vāyu）的象征或形像为归依者，实非毗湿奴的真信徒。
Lord Vishnu (in dialogue with Garuda/Vinatā-putra)
Concept: Taking refuge in non-Vaiṣṇava representations (pratīkas) of other deities is incompatible with being a true devotee of Viṣṇu; misdirected reverence is linked with intense suffering.
Vedantic Theme: Ananya-bhakti (exclusive devotion) and śaraṇāgati (right refuge); misidentification of ultimate object of worship as a cause of bondage/duḥkha.
Application: Clarify one’s iṣṭa-devatā and commitments; avoid contradictory allegiances if pursuing a defined devotional path; cultivate consistent devotion and ethics.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: emphasis on Viṣṇu-bhakti as salvific and warnings against deviation (thematic); Garuda Purana: disease/duḥkha as karmic consequence motifs (thematic)
FAQs
This verse frames genuine devotion as exclusive refuge in Viṣṇu; mere outward reverence to other “pratīkas” while claiming Vaiṣṇava identity is treated as spiritually inconsistent and karmically harmful.
It states that certain misaligned forms of worship and identity-confusion can ripen as immediate worldly suffering—major afflictions and diseases—showing that karma can bear fruit ‘here itself,’ not only after death.
Maintain clarity and integrity in one’s chosen path of devotion, avoid performative or contradictory religious identity, and align worship, ethics, and daily conduct with the core commitments of one’s tradition.