Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 105

Dāna as Prāyaścitta; Deathbed Gifts; Antyeṣṭi Procedures; Nārāyaṇa-bali for Untimely Deaths

Devanagari script

कण्ठग्रहे विलग्नानां क्षीणानां तुण्डघातिनाम् / विषाग्निवृषविप्रेभ्यो विषूच्या चात्मघातकाः

Transliteration

kaṇṭhagrahe vilagnānāṃ kṣīṇānāṃ tuṇḍaghātinām / viṣāgnivṛṣaviprebhyo viṣūcyā cātmaghātakāḥ

Translation

或有喉间痉挛窒息而死者，或有枯槁消瘦而亡者，或有因击打创伤而殒者；或为毒所害，或为火所焚，或遭牛畜之祸，或因冒犯婆罗门而受苦；或为酷烈疫疾如霍乱所攫，乃至自戕者——皆被说为罪业之因所结之果。

Word by Word

• कण्ठग्रहे: in throat-seizure/choking
• कण्ठग्रहे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कण्ठ + ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: कण्ठस्य ग्रहः (throat-seizure)

• विलग्नानाम्: of those stuck (fast)
• विलग्नानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-लग् (धातु) ; विलग्न (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘of those who are stuck/entangled’

• क्षीणानाम्: of the weakened
• क्षीणानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षी (धातु) ; क्षीण (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘of the emaciated/weakened’

• तुण्डघातिनाम्: of beak-strikers (birds etc.)
• तुण्डघातिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुण्ड + घातिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: तुण्डेन घातिनः (those who strike with beak/snout)

• विषाग्निवृषविप्रेभ्यः: from poison, fire, bulls, and brāhmaṇas
• विषाग्निवृषविप्रेभ्यः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष + अग्नि + वृष + विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (समाहार/इतरेतर): ‘from poison, fire, bull, and brāhmaṇa(s)’

• विषूच्या: by cholera/dysentery (viṣūcikā)
• विषूच्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विषूचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• आत्मघातकाः: self-slayers (suicides)
• आत्मघातकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् + घातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: आत्मनः घातकाः (self-killers)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Pretakalpa Layer

Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Specific sufferings and untimely deaths are linked to specific pāpa and transgressions; moral causality is emphasized to deter wrongdoing and prompt remediation.

Vedantic Theme: Adharma binds through painful vipāka; ethical restraint purifies the antaḥkaraṇa and supports a better gati.

Application: Avoid violence, poisoning, arson, harming cattle, and offenses to brāhmaṇas; seek expiation and spiritual support; treat epidemics with both practical care and ritual propriety where culturally relevant.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: body/illness scenes; accident sites (implied)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana lists of naraka/karma-vipāka and apamṛtyu categories; Garuda Purana prāyaścitta and śānti measures for grave sins and suicide

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Cattle (Vṛṣa)
• Atmaghātakas (suicides)

FAQs

What is the importance of linking disease and violent death to karma in the Garuda Purana?

This verse presents bodily afflictions—choking fits, wasting illness, injury, poison, fire, epidemics—as karmic outcomes, reinforcing the Purana’s teaching that harmful actions (pāpa) ripen into specific forms of suffering.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

By cataloging painful modes of dying and severe afflictions, the text frames them as signs of heavy demerit that shape the preta-experience and the soul’s subsequent journey under Yama’s order, emphasizing moral causality before and after death.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Avoid violence, deceit, and harm to beings; treat sacred persons and animals with respect; cultivate sāttvika conduct and seek atonement (prāyaścitta) and dharmic living to reduce harmful karmic momentum.