Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 3
Akālamṛtyu: Preta-state Categories and the Nārāyaṇa-bali / Ekoddiṣṭa Remedy
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच / प्रेतीभूताद्विजातीनां सम्भूते मृत्युवैकृते / तेषां मार्गगतिस्थानं विधानं कथयाम्यहम्
śrīkṛṣṇa uvāca / pretībhūtādvijātīnāṃ sambhūte mṛtyuvaikṛte / teṣāṃ mārgagatisthānaṃ vidhānaṃ kathayāmyaham
圣克里希纳说道：当“再生者”（二次出生者）因死亡所致的变异状态而成为饿鬼（preta）时，我现在将为他们宣说所规定的次第——他们所行之道、行进之状，以及所抵达之处。
Śrī Kṛṣṇa (as the teacher-narrator in this section)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: Death produces a transformed condition (mṛtyu-vaikṛta) leading to preta-state; the soul’s movement follows an ordered path shaped by karmic law and ritual support.
Vedantic Theme: Karma-phala and subtle-body continuity across death; saṃsāra’s regulated governance under dharma.
Application: Perform timely antyeṣṭi and śrāddha to aid the departed’s transition; cultivate dharmic living to avoid painful post-mortem trajectories.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: route/liminal stations
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: descriptions of preta-yātrā, stations, and Yama’s realm (continuing in 2.40 and subsequent chapters).
FAQs
This verse introduces an authoritative, rule-based account of the departed being’s post-death route and stations, which underpins why specific śrāddha and related rites are prescribed to aid the preta.
It frames death as a transformative condition (mṛtyu-vaikṛta) in which one becomes a preta, and announces that the text will detail the journey—its route, manner of movement, and the places reached.
Treat death rites and remembrance practices as structured duties: perform prescribed ancestral offerings (as guided by one’s tradition) with clarity and sincerity, recognizing they are meant to support the departed through a defined post-death transition.