Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 35
Yama-mārga (Adhvan) and the Courts of Yama: Vaivasvatī and Chitragupta
नानाप्रहारणाग्रैश्च नानायन्त्रैस्तथा परे / छिद्यन्ते पापकर्माणः क्रकचैः काष्ठवद्द्विधा
nānāprahāraṇāgraiśca nānāyantraistathā pare / chidyante pāpakarmāṇaḥ krakacaiḥ kāṣṭhavaddvidhā
在那里，诸般兵刃之锋与种种刑具并施，造罪之人被割裂分断——如木材一般被锯成两段。
Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: Pāpa yields embodied suffering; the ‘cutting’ symbolizes fragmentation caused by adharma and violence.
Vedantic Theme: Saṃsāric bondage through harmful action; experiential retribution as a mirror of one’s inflicted harms.
Application: Avoid हिंसा (violence), cruelty, and exploitation; cultivate compassion and non-injury to prevent corresponding vipāka.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: execution/torture yard
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: yantra/torture devices and weapon imagery recurring across naraka descriptions
FAQs
This verse presents a graphic consequence of pāpa-karma, using the image of sawing to stress moral accountability and the inevitability of results after death in Yama’s domain.
In the Preta Kanda narrative, the departed who carry heavy sinful karma are led into punitive regions where they undergo torment through weapons and instruments—symbolizing the fruition of their actions.
Treat it as a warning to reduce harmful actions, cultivate dharma, and adopt ethical self-restraint; the text frames suffering as the downstream outcome of repeated wrongdoing.