THE GARUDA PURANA

The Garuda Purana is a sattvika purana. The others in this group

are Vishnu Purana, Narada Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Padma
Purana and Varaha Purana. The Garuda Purana has nineteen
thousand shlokas. It is a medium-sized Purana. The Skanda Purana,
for example, has eighty-one thousand shlokas. And the Markandeya
Purana only nine thousand. The thousand shlokas of the Garuda
Purana are divided into two parts, a purva khanda (first part) and an
uttara khanda (subsequent part). Each khanda has several chapters
(adhyaya). The purva khanda is much longer, it has two hundred
and thirty-four chapters. The Uttara khanda has only forty-five.
Suta and the Other Sages

Suta was a very learned sage. He was very well-versed in the

Puranas and in the shastras (sacred texts). He was also devoted to
Vishnu.
Perhaps it is best to clear up a little bit of confusion about Suta. The
word Suta is not really a name. The sutas were a class of people,
born of brahmana mothers and kshatriya fathers. As you probably
know, in those days, society was divided into four classes or varnas.
The first two were brahmanas and kshatriyas. It was the duty of
brahmanas and kshatriyas. It was the duty of brahamas to pray and
study the sacred texts, apart from assisting in religious rites. It was
the duty of kshatriyas to bear arms and protect the world.
The sutas were neither brahmanas nor kshatriyas, they were cross-
breeds. Their duties were to look after horses and act as
charioteers.
Vedavyasa taught the Puranas to one of his disciples name
Romaharshana or Lomaharshana. He was thus named because the
hair (roma) on his body (roma) was thrilled (harshana) when he
heard the Puranas from his teacher. It was Romaharshana who
related the stories of the Puranas to everyone else. The Bhagavata
Purana says the Romaharashana had a son named Suta and it was
this son who related the story of that particular Purana to the other
sages On the other hand, Romaharshana himself belonged to the
suta class, so that he too could be addressed as Suta. From reading
the Garuda Purana, one does get the impression that it is
Romaharshana himself who is relating the story, and not his son.
To come back to the point, Romaharshana came to a forest known
as naimisharanya. He sat there and contemplated the mysteries of
the Lord Vishnu.
Several other rishis (sages) led by Shounaka also came to the
forest. They told Romaharshana, Sage, you know everything. Who
is the god of all gods? Who is to be worshipped? What does one
meditate on? Who destroys evil? How did the world come to be
created? What is dhrama (righteousness)? Tell us all these things
and more.
I will, replied Romaharshana. I will recite to you the Garuda Purana.
Many years ago, this Purana was told to the sage Kashyapa by the
great bird Garuda himself. I learnt it from my teacher Vyasadeva.
But first let me list for you the twenty-two avataras of Vishnu.
The first incarnation was a young boy (kumara). In this form, Vishnu
adopted celibacy (brahmacharya) and performed difficult tapasya
(meditation).
The second incarnation was as a boar (varaha). In this form, Vishnu
rescued the earth from the underworld.
The third incarnation was as a great sage (devarshi). In this form,
Vishnu spread the knowledge of several texts (tantras).
The fourth incarnation was as two sages named Nara and Narayana.
The fifth incarnation was as the great sage Kaila. Kapila taught his
disciple Asuri the wonderful philosophy known as samkhya yoga.
The sixth incarantion was as the age Dattatreya, the son of Atri and
Anasuya.
The seventh incarnation took place in the manvantra known as
svayambhuva. Vishnu was born as the son of Ruchi and Akuti and
performed many yajnas (sacrifices).
In the eighth incarnation, Vishnu was born as the son of Nabhi and
Meru. His name was Urukrama. He taught everyone the righteous
way of life.
In the ninth incarnation, Vishnu became the king Prithu and restored
foodgrains and herbs to the earth.
The tenth of Vishnu’s incarnations was as a fish (matsya). He saved
Vaivasvata Manu from the flood that enveloped the world.
In the eleventh incarnation, Vishnu adopted the form of a turtle
(kurma). This was to help out the gods (devas) and demons (asuras)
in the churning of the ocean (samudra manthana).
The twelfith incarnation was as Dhanvantari, physician of the gods
and the originator of medicine.
The thirteenth was mohini avatara. In this form, Vishnu adopted the
body of a beautiful woman so as to charm and rob the asuras of the
amrita (a life-giving drink).
In the fourteenth incarnation, Vishnu became narasimha, a being
who was half-man and half-lion. He killed the evil asura
Hiranyakashipu as narasimha.
The fifteenth incarnation witnessed Vishnu’s adoption of the form of
dwarf (vamana). This was to hoodwink the asura Vali and restore
the gods to heaven.
In the sixteenth incarnation, Vishnu became Parashurama, killed all
the kshatriyas in the world twenty-one times.
The seventeenth incarnation was as Vedavyasa, the son of
Parashara and Satyavati. Vedavyasa divided the Vedas.
Vishnu’s eighteen incarnation was as the sage Narada.
The nineteenth incarnation was Rama and the twentieth was
Krishna.
In the twenty-first incarnation, Vishnu became Buddha, the
originator of Buddhism.
The twenty-second incarnation is yet to come Vishnu will be come.
Vishnu will be born as Kalki so as to destroy evil in the world and
restore righteousness.
There have been several other incarnations of Vishnu. But the ones
mentioned above are the major ones.

The Background to the Purana:

Romaharshana next related how the Garuda Purana had originated.

He once went to the hermitage known as vadrikashrama and met
Vedavyasa there. He worshipped Vedavyasa and asked the sage to
tell him about the true nature of Vishnu.
I will, said Vedavyasa, I will tell you the Garuda Purana. I, Narada,
Daksha, Bhrigu and several other sages had once gone to Brahma’s
residence in brahmaloka to pay our respects. We asked Brahma to
relate to us the best form of knowledge.
Garuda was the king of the birds. He pleased Vishnu through
tapsaya and Vishnu appeared before Garuda. What boon do you
wish for? he asked Garuda.
Please grant me the boon that I may be your carrier (vahana),
answered Garuda. Grant me the boon that I may be able to prevail
over all snakes. And finally grant me the boon that I may know
everything so as to be able to compose a Purana.
This boon was granted and Garuda composed the Garuda Purana.
He then taught it to the sage Kashyapa. And Vishnu himself recited
the Purana to Brahma, Shiva and the other gods. Vedavyasa learnt
the Purana from Brahma and taught it to Romaharshana. It was this
Purana that Romaharshana was now reciting.

Creation:
In the beginning there was nothing. Only the divine essence
(brahman) was everywhere. The brahman is the origin of the
universe. It has no beginning and no end. Before creation, there
was nothing except the brahman. The universe was immersed in
water.

Then in the water a golden egg (anda) appeared. Vishnu was inside
the egg. He had adopted a physical form so as to create. From
Vishnu was created Brahma, the one with four faces. All that was
created Brahma. The one with four faces. All that was created was
inside the egg. Brahma is the creator, Visnu the preserver and
Shiva the destroyer. But it is the same brahma which adopts these
different forms. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are not really separate
entities.
At first, Brahma created four types of beings. These are devas
(gods), asuras (demons), pitris (ancestors) and manavas (humans).
The gods are stronger during the day and the demons are stronger
at night. Later, Brahma created two other types of beings. These
were the rakshasas (demons) and yakshas (demi-gods). He also
created the gandharvas (singers of heaven).
Snakes were created from Brahma’s hair, sheep from the chest,
goats from the mouth, cows from the stomach, and horses,
elephants, donkeys and camels from the feet. The hair on Brahma’s
body became herbs. The brahmanas emerged from Brahma’s
mouth and the kshatriyas from his arms. The third of the four
classes consists of vaishyas. Agriculture and trade are the duties of
vaishyas. The vaishyas came out of Brahma’s thighs. The last of
the four classes consists of shudras. It is the duty of shudras to
serve the other three classes. The shudras emerged from Brahma’s
feet.

The four Vedas came out of Brahma’s four mouths.

Brahma first created sons through his mental powers. Their names
were Dharma, Rudra, Manu, Sanaka, Sanatana, Bhrigu, Sanatkumar,
Ruchi, Shuddha, Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu,
Vashishtha and Narada. Then Daksha was created from Brahma’s
right thumb and Daksha’s wife from Brahma’s left thumb, Daksha
and his wife had several daughters.
From his own body Brahma also created a man named
Svayambhuva Manu and a woman named Shatarupa. Manu and
Shatarupa had two sons named Priyavrata and Uttanapada and
three daughters named Prasuti, Akuti and Devahuti.
The sage Kashyapa was born from Brahma. He married thirteen of
Daksha’s daughters. Their names were Aditi, Diti, Danu, Kala,
Anayu, Muni, Kadru, Prabha, Ira, Krodha, Vinata, Surabhi and Khaga.
The sons of Aditi were the adityas or gods and the sons of Diti were
the daityas or demons. Two of Diti’s sons were Hiranyaksha and
Hiranyakashipu. Danu’s sons were the danavas or demons. Vinata
had two sons, Aruna and Garuda, the same Garuda who composed
the Garuda Purana. Kadru’s sons were the snakes. Kroudha’s sons
were the pishachas (cannibalistic demons). Surabhi gave birth to
cows and buffaloes. Ira was the mother of all trees and bushes.
Kahaga gave birth to rakshasas and yakshas and muni to apsaras
(dancers of heaven).

Praying :

The Garuda Purana now has several sections on techniques of

praying to Surya (the sun god), Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) and
Vishnu. The mantras (incantations) that are to be used are
described. For example, if you wanted to pray to Vishnu, you could
say the following.

I pray to you, Lord Vishnu. Take your sudarshana chakra (a bladed

discus) and protect my east. I seek your protection my south. I
salute you. Take your sounanda hala (a plough) and protect my
west. O louts-eyes, you alone are my refuge. Take your shatana
mushala (a club and protect my north.
I pray to you, Lord Vishnu. Take your khadga (sword) and charma
(shield) and protect my northcast. Your are the killer of all demons,
grant me my desire. Take our panchajanya (a couch-shell) and
anudvadoha (a lotus) and protect my north-west. Your body is
divine. Take your chandramasa khadga (a sword) and protect my
south-east. I salute you. Take your shrivatsa (Vishnu’s necklace)
and protect my south-west. Ascend. O Lord, on Garuda and protect
me from the top. You are invincible. I bow down before you. Also
protect me in the underworld.

All these prayers and mantras help. But the best prayer of all is to
recite Vishnu’s thousand names.
Vishnu’s Thousand Names

The following are the thousand names of Vishnu. For convenience,

let us list them out in a hundred groups of ten each.
(1) Vasudeva, Mahavishu , Vamana, Vasava, Vasu,
Balachandranibha, Bala, Balabhadra, Valadhipa, Valibandhanakrit.
(2) Vedhah, Varenya, Vedavit, Kavi, Vedakarta, Vedarupa, Vedya,
Vedaparipluta, Vedangavetta, Vedesha.
(3) Baladhara, Balardana, Avikara, Varesha, Varada, Varunadhipa,
Viraha Vrihat, Vira, Vandita.
(4) Parameshvara, Atma, Paramatma, Pratyagatma, Viyat, Para,
Padmanabha, Padmanikdhi, Padmahasta, Gadadhara.
(5) Parama, Parabhuta, Purushottama, Ishvara, Padmajangha,
Pundarika, Padmamaladhara, Priya, Padmaksha, Padmagarbha.
(6) Parjanya, Padmasamsthita, Apara, Paramartha, Paratpara,
Prabhu, Pandita, Panditapavirta, Papmardaka, Shuddha.
(7) Prakasharupa, Pavitra, Parirakshaka, Pipasavarjita, Padya,
Purusha, Prakriti, Pradhana, Prithivipadama, Priyaprada.
(8) Sarvesha, Sarvaga, Sarva, Sarvavid, Sarvada, Para,
Sarvajagaddhama, Sarvadarshi, Sarvabhrit, Sarvanugrahakrit.
(9) Deva, Sarvabhutahridisthita, Sarvapa, Sarvapujya,
Sarvadevanamaskrita, Sarvajaganmula, Sakala, Nishkala, Anala,
Sarvagopta.
(10) Sarvanishtha, Sarvakaranakarana, Sarvadhyeya, Sarvamitra,
Sarvadevasvarupadhrik, Sarvadhyaksha, Suradhyaksha,
Surasurnamaskrita, Dushtaghataka, Asurantka.
(11) Satyapala, Sannabha, Siddhesha, Siddhavadita, Siddhasadhya,
Siddhasiddha, Hridishvara, Jagaccharanya, Shreye, Kshema.
(12) Shubhakrit, Shobhana, Soumya, Satya, Satyastha,
Satyaparakrama, Satyasankalpa, Satyavit, Satyada, Dharma,
(13) Dharmi, Karmi, Sarvakarmavivarjita, Karmakarta, Karma, Kriya,
Karya, Shripati, Nripati, Shriman.
(14) Sarvapativarjita, Devapti, Vrishnipati, Hiranyagarbhapati,
Tripurantapati, Pashupati, Vasupati, Indrapati, Varunapati,
Vanaspatipati.
(15) Anilapati, Analapati, Yamapati, Kuberapati, Nakshatrapati,
Oshadhipati, Vrikshapati, Nagapati, Arkapati, Dakshapati.
(16) Sukritapati, Nripapati, Gandharvapati, Asupati, Uttama,
Parvatapati, Nadipati, Devapati, Shreshtha, Kapilapati.
(17) Latapati, Virudhpati, Munipati, Suryapati, Chandrapati,
Shukrapati, Grahapati, Rakshasapati, Kinnarapati, Dvijapati.
 (18) Saritpati, Samudrapati, Sarovarapati, Bhutapati, Vetalapati,
Kushmandapati, Pakshipati, Pashupati, Mahatma, Mangala.
(19) Meya, Mandara, Mandareshvara, Meru, Mata, Pramana,
Madhava, Manovarjita, Maladhara, Mahadeva.
(20) Mahadevapujita, Mahashanta, Mahabhaga, Madhusudana,
Mahavirya, Mahaprana, Markandeyapravandita, Mayada, Mayatma,
Mayabaddha.
(21) Mayavivarjita, Munistuta, Muni, Maitra, Mahanasa, Mahahanu,
Mahavahu, Mahadanta, Maranavivarjita, Mahavaktra.
(22) Mahakaya, Mahodara, Mahapaka, Mahagriva, Mahamani,
Mahamanah, Mahamati, Mahakiriti, Maharupa, Mahasura.
(23) Madhu, Mahadeva, Maheshvara, Makhejya, Makharupi,
Mananiya, Makheshvara, Mahavata, Mahabhaga, Mahesha,
(24) Atitamanusha, Manava, Manu, Manavapriyamkara, Mriga,
Mrigapujya, Mrigapati, Buddhapati, Brihaspatipati,
Shanaishcharapati.
(25) Rahupati, Ketupati, Lakshmana, Lakshana, Lamboustha, Lalita,
Alamkarayukta, Chandancharchita, Rasojjvaladvaktra,
Pushpopashobhita.
(26) Rama, Ramapati, Sabharya, Parameshvara, Ratnada,
Ratnaharta, Rupi, Rupavivarjita, Maharupa, Ugrarupa.
(27) Soumyarupa, Nilameghanibha, Shuddha, Kalameghanibha,
Dhumravarna, Pitavarna, Nanarupa, Avarnaka, Virupa, Rupada.
(28) Shuklavarna, Sarvavarna, Survarna, Svarnamekhala,
Suvarnapradata, Suvarnamsha, Suvarnapriya, Suvarnadhya,
Suparni, Mahaparna.
(29) Suparnakarana, Vainateya, Aditya, Adi, Adikara, Shiva,
Mahatkarana, Puranakarana, Buddhikarana, Manahkarana.
(30) Chittakarana, Ahamkarakarana, Bhutakarana,
Vibhavasukarana, Akashakarana, Prithivikarana, Andakarana,
Prakritikarana, Dehakarana, Chakshuhkarana.
(31) Shrotrakarana, Tvakakarana, Jihvakarana, Ghranakarana,
Hastadvayakarana, Padadvayakarana, Vakyakarana, Payukarana,
Indrakarana, Kuberakarana.
(32) Yamakarana, Ishanakarana, Yakshakarana, Rakshasakarana,
Bhushanakarana, Dharmakarana, Jantukarana, Vasukarana,
Paramakarana, Manukarana
(33) Pakshikarana, Munikarana, Shreshthakarana, Yogikakarana,
Siddhaganakarana, Yakshaganakarana, Kinnaraganakarana,
Gandharvaganakarana, Nadakarana, Nadikarana.
 (34) Samudrakarana, Vrikshaganakarana, Virudhakarana,
Lokakarana, Patalakarana, Devakarana, Sarpaganakarana,
Mangalakarana, Pashuganakarana, Sarvakarana.
(35) Dehatma, Indriyatma, Atma, Buddhi, Manatma, Ahankaratma,
Chetatma, Jagradatma, Svapnatma, Paratma.
(36) Pradhanatma, Paramatma, Akashatma, Jalatma, Prithvyatma,
Rasatma, Gandhatma, Rupatma, Paratma, Shabdatma.
(37) Vagatma, Sparshatma, Purushatma, Shrotratma, Rudratma,
Tvagatma, Jihvatma, Ghranatma, Hastatma, Padatma.
(38) Upasthatma, Payvatma, Indratma, Brahmatma, Dakshatma,
Satyatma, Ishtma, Roudratma, Mokshavid, Yati.
(39) Yatnavan, Yatna, Charmi, Khadgi, Asurantaka,
Haripravrtanashila, Yatihitarata, Yatirupi, Yogi, Yogidhyeya.
(40) Hari, Shiti, Samvit, Medha, Kala, Ushma, Varsha, Mati,
Samvatsara, Mokshakara.
(41) Mohapradhvamsaka, Dushtamohakarta, Vadavamukha,
Samvartaka, Kalakarta, Goutama, Bhrigu, Angira, Atri, Vashishta.
(42) Pulaha, Pulastya, Kutas, Yajnavalkya, Devala, Vyasa,
Parashara, Sharmada, Gangeya, Hrishikesha.
(43) Vrihacchrava, Keshava, Kleshahanta, Sukarna, Karnavarjita,
Narayana, Mahabhaga, Pranapati, Apanapati, Vyanapati.
(44) Udanapati, Samanapati, Shabdapati, Sparshapati, Rupapati,
Kshapati, Adya, Khadgapani, Halayudha, Chakrapani.
(45) Kundali, Shrivatsanka, Prakriti, Koustubhagriva,
Pitambaradhara, Sumukha, Durmukha, Mukhavivarjita, Ananta,
Anantarupa.
(46) Sunakha, Surasundara Sukalapa, Vibhu, Jisnu, Bharjishnu,
Ishudhi, Hiranyakashipuhanta, Hiranyaksavimardaka, Putananihanta.
(47) Bhaskarantavinashana, Keshidalana, Mushtikavimardaka,
Kamsadanavabhetta, Chanurapramardaka, Arishtanihanta,
Akrurapriya, Krurarupa, Akrurapriyavandita, Bhagaha.
(48) Bhagavan, Bhanu, Bhagavata, Uddhava, Uddhavesha,
Uddhavachintita, Chakradhrika, Chanchala, Ahankara, Mati.
(49) Chalachalavivarjita, Chitta, Gagana, Prithivi, Jala, Vayu,
Chakshuh, Shrotra, Jihva, Ghrana,
(50) Vak, Pani, Pada, Jaghana, Payu, Upastha, Shankara, Kharva,
Kshantida, Kshantikrit.
(51) Nara, Bhaktapriya, Bharta, Bhaktiman, Kirtida,
Bhadktivardhana, Bhaktastuta, Bhaktapara, Kirtivardhana, Kirti.
(52) Kirti, Dipti, Kshama, Kanti, Bhakti, Daya, Dana, Data, Karta,
Devadevapriya.
 (53) Shuchi, Shuchiman, Sukhada, Moksha, Kama, Artha,
Sahasrapat, Sahasrashirsha, Vaidya, Mokshadvara.
(54) Prajadvara, Sahasranta, Sahasrakara, Shukra, Sukriti, Sugriva,
Koustubha, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Hayagriva.
(55) Shukara, Matsya, Parashurama, Prahlada, Vli, Sharanya, Nitya,
Buddha, Mukta, Sharirabhrit.
(56) Kharadushanahanta, Ravanapramardana, Sitapati, Vardhishnu,
Bharata, Kumbhanihanta, Indrajinnihanta,
Kumbhakarnapramardana, Narantakantaka, Shambarari.
(57) Devantakavinashana, Dushtasuranihanta, Narakanihanta,
Trishirshavinashana, Yamalarjunabhette, Tapohitkara Vaditra, Vadya,
Varaparada, Sara.
(58) Sarapriya, Soura, Kalahanta, Nikrintana, Agasti, Devala,
Narada, Naradapriya, Prana, Apana.
(59) Vyana, Rajah, Sattva, Tamah, Sharat, Udana, Samana,
Bheshaja, Bhiskata, Kutastha.
(60) Svaccharupa, Sarvadehavivarjita, Chakshurindriyahina,
Vagindriyavivrjita, Hastendriyavihina, Payuvihina,
Padadvayavivarjita, Upasthavihina, Mahatapovivarita,
Prabodhavihina.
(61) Buddhivivarjita, Chetovihina, Pranavivrjita, Apanavihina,
Vyanavivarjita, Udanavihina, Samanavivarjita, Akashavihina,
Vayuparivarjita, Agnivivhina.
(62) Udakavivarjita, Prithivivihina, Shabdavivarjita, Sparshavihina,
Sarvrupavivarjita, Ragavigata, Shokarahita, Vachovarjita,
Aghaparivarjita, Rajovivarjita.
(63) Shadavikararahita, Kamavarjita, Krodhaparivarjita, Lobhavigta,
Dambhavivarjita, Suksha, Susuksha, Sthulatsthulatara, Visharada,
Baladyaksha.
(64) Sarvakshobhaka, Sarvadhyaksha, Arbhaka, Prakritikshobhaka,
Mahatkshobhaka, Bhutakshobhaka, Bddihikshobhaka,
Indriyakshobhaka, Vishayakshobhaka, Brahmakshobhaka.
(65) Sarvakarvivarjita, Nirakara, Nirnimitta, Niratanka, Nirashraya,
Pushkaradvipa, Jagadishvara, Murari, Mukunda, Shouri.
(66) Rudrakshobhaka, Chakshuradyagamya, Kurma, Shrotragamya,
Tvagagamya, Jibvagrahya, Ghranendriyagamya, Vagargrahya,
Hastadvayagamya, Padagamya.
(67) Manohagrahya, Buddhyagrahya, Hari, Chetograhya,
Ahambuddhigrahya, Shankhapani, Avyaya, Gadapani, Krishna,
Sharngapani.
 (68) Jnanamurti, Parantapa, Tapasvi, Jnanagamya, Jnani, Jnanavid,
Jneya, Jneyahina, Jnapti, Bhava.
(69) Bhavya, Chaitanyarupadhrik, Bhavakra, Bhavana,
Bhavanashana, Govinda, Gopati, Gopa, Gopala, Gopati.
(70) Sarvagopisukhaprada, Gomati, Godhara, Upendra, Nrisimha,
Shouri, Janardana, Araneya, Vrihadhanu, Trikala.
(71) Vrihaddipta, Damodara, Kalajna, Kalavarjita, Trisandhya,
Dvpara, Treta, Prajadvara, Trivikrama, Vikrama.
(72) Dandahasta, Ekadandi, Tridandadhrik, Sama, Bheda, Upaya,
Samarupi, Samaga, Samaveda, Atharva.
(73) Sukrita, Sukharupadhrik, Atharvavedavid, Atharvacharya,
Rigrupi, Rigveda, Rigvedapratishthita, Yajurvetta, Yajurveda, Ekapat.
(74) Vahupat, Supat, Sahasrapat, Chatushpat, Dvipat, Smriti,
Nyaya, Yama, Yami, Sannyasi.
(75) Chaturashrama, Brahmachari, Grihastha, Bhikshuka,
Vanaprastha, Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra, Varna.
(76) Shilada, Shilasampanna, Duhshilaparivarjita, Moksha,
Adhyatmasamavishta, Stuti, Stota, Pujaka, Pujya, Vakakarana.
(77) Vachya, Vachaka, Vetta, Vyakarana, Vakya, Vakyavit,
Vakyagamya, Tirthavasa, Tirtha, Tirthi.
(78) Tirthavit, Tirthadibhuta, Samkhya, Nirukta, Adhidaivata,
Pranava, Pranavesha, Pranavapravandita, Pranavalakshya, Gayatri.
(79) Gadadhara, Shalagramanivsi, Shalagrama, Jalshayi, Yogashayi,
Sheshashayi, Kusheshava, Karya, Mahibharta, Karana,
(80) Prithividhara, Prajapati, Shashvata, Kamya, Kamayita, Virat,
Pusha, Samrat, Svarga, Rathastha.
(81) Sarathi, Rathi, Dhani, Dhanaprada, Dhanya, Arjunapriya,
Arjuna, Bhima, Parakrama, Durvishaha.
(82) Sarvashastravisharada, Saravata, Mahabhishma, Parijatahara,
Amritapradata, Kshiroda, Kshira, Indratmaja, Indratmajagopta,
Govardhanadhara.
(83) Kamsanashana, Rastipa, Hastinashana, Prasanna, Shipivishta,
Sarvalokartinashana, Mudra, Mudrakara, Sarvamudravivarjita, Dehi.
(84) Dehasthita, Dehaniyamaka, Shrota, Shrotaniyanta, Shrotavya,
Shravana, Tvakasthita, Sparshayita, Sprishya, Sparshana,
(85) Chakshuhstha, Rupadrashta, Drishya, Chakshurniyanta,
Jihvastha, Rasajna, Niyamaka, Ghranastha, Ghrata,
Ghranendriyaniyamaka
(86) Vakastha, Vakta, Vaktavya, Vachana, Pranistha, Shilpakrit,
Shilpa, Hastadvayaniyamaka, Padavya, Ganta.
 (87) Gantavya, Gamana, Padadvayaniyanta, Padyabhak,
Visargakrit, Visarganiyanta, Upasthastha, Sukha, Upasthaniyanta,
Anandakara.
(88) Shatrughna, Kartavirya, Dattatreya, Alarkahita,
Kartaviryanikrintana, Kalanemi, Mahanemi, Megha, Meghapati,
Annaprada.
(89) Annarupi, Annada, Annapravartka, Dhumakrit, Dhumarupa,
Devakiputra, Uttama, Devakinandana, Nanda, Rohinipriya.
(90) Vasudevapriya, Vasudevasuta, Dundubhi, Hasarupa,
Hamsarupa, Pushpahasa, Attahasa, Attahasapriya, Kshara,
Sarvadhyaksha.
(91) Akshara, Achyuta, Satyesha, Satyapriya, Vara, Rukminipati,
Rukminiallabha, Punyashloka, Vishruta, Vrishakapi.
(92) Guhya, Mangala, Budha, Rahu, Ketu, Graha, Grahaya,
Gajendramukhamelaka, Grahavinihanta, Gramani.
(93) Rakshaka, Kinnara, Siddha, Chandaha, Svacchanda,
Vishvarupa, Vishalaksha, Daityasuhana, Anatarupa, Bhutastha.
(94) Devadanavasamsthita, Sushuptistha, Sushupti, Sthana,
Sthananta, Jagatstha, Jagarta, Jagarita, Svapnastha, Svapnavit.
(95) Svapna, Sthanastha, Sustha, Jagratasvapna, Sushuptivihina,
Chaturthaka, Vijnana, Chaitrarupa, Jiva, Jivayita.
(96) Bhuvanadhipati, Bhuvananiyamaka, Patalavasi, Patala,
Sarvajvaravinashana, Paramanandarupi, Sulabha,
Dharmapravrtaka, Durlabha, Pranayamapara.
(97) Pratyahara, Dharaka, Pratyaharakara, Prabha, Kanti, Archih,
Agrahya, Goura, Sarva, Shuchi.
(98) Abhishtuta, Vashatkara, Vashat, Voushat, Svadha, Svaha, Rati,
Pakta, Nandayita, Bhokta.
(99) Boddha, Bhavayita, Jnanatma, Uhatma, Bhuma,
Sarveshvareshvara, Nadi, Nandi, Nandisha, Bharata.
(100) Tarunashana, Chidrupa, Shripati, Chakravartiraja,
Sarvadevesha, Pushkara, Pushkaradhyaksha, Janaka, Janya,
Nirakara.

A few of the names are repeated more than once. But the total
number of names is certainly close to a thousand. Those who recite
these thousand names of Vishnu attain their hearts’ desire.
Brahmanas are able to go and live with Vishnu. Kshatriyias win
battles. Vaishyas become wealthy. And Shudras are never unhappy.
Snake-bites:

There is a mantra named praneshvara that cures snake-bites.

If a person is bitten by a snake, the consequences depend on where

the incident took place. For example, it is impossible for a person
who is bitten in a river to live. If a snake bites a person in a
cremation ground, a termite hill, a mountain, a well or a hole in a
tree, and it is found that the bite mark has three lines on it. The
person is sure to die. Bites under the armpits, the waist, the throat,
the forehead, the ears, the stomach, the mouth, the arms and the
back are impossible to cure. And if a soldier or a beggar is seen at
the time of the snake-bite, that is a sure of death.

In all other cases, the praneshvara mantra helps to cure snake-

bites. A lotus flower with eight petals is to be drawn and the words
of the incantation are to be written on each of the petals. This is
then placed on the bitten person’s body and he is bathed. It helps if
the victim is given warm ghrita (clarified butter) to drink. In fact, if
the incantation is chanted and a lump of sugar is simultaneoulsy
flung into a house all snakes give that house a miss.

Details of several other mantras follow.

Shalagrama:

Do you know what a shalagrama is? It is a representation of

Vishnu, made out of stone. A story in the Brahmavaivarta Purana
says that Vishnu was cursed that he would become a stone on the
banks of the Gandaki river. The Garuda Purana now describes
different types of shalagrama images. All such images are sacred.
And if one touches any of these images, the sins committed in many
earlier lives are forgiven.

A shalagrama that has the marks of shankha (conch-shell), chakra,

gada (mace) and padma (lotus) is called keshava. That must be the
precise order in which the marks are there on the image. If the
order becomes chakra, shankha, padma and gada, the image is
called madhava. Narayana has the order padma, gada, chakra and
shankha. With an order gada, padma, shankha and chakra one has
govinda. A vishnu image will have the order padma, shankha,
shakra and gada. Shankha padma, gada and chakra is
madhusudana and gada, chakra, shankha and padma is trivikrama.
There can be many other permutations also. The order chakra,
gada, padma and shankha leads to the image of vamana. And
chakra, padma, shankha and gada is the image shridhara,
Hrishikesha has padma, gada, shankha and chakra. You can
recognise a padmanabha image by the order padma, chakra, gada,
and shankha. Shankha, chakra, gada and padma is damodara,
while chakra, shankha, gada and padma is vasudeva.
Sankarshana has the order shankha, padma, chakra and gada.
Shankha, gada, padma and chakra is pradyumna. Aniruddha has
the order gada, shankha, padma and chakra. A purushottama
image is known by the order padma, shankha, gada and chakra.
Gada, shankha, chakra and padma is adhokshaja, while padma,
gada, shankha and chakra, is nrisimha. An ayuta image has the
order padma, chakra, shankha and gada. The order shankha,
chakra, shankha and gada. The order shankha, chakra, padma and
gada is for the image janardana. An upendra has the order gada,
chakra, padma and shankha. Chakra, padma, gada, and shankha
signifies hari. And finally, shrikrishna has the order gada, padma,
chakra and shankha.

Building Houses

Before a house is built, there has to be a ceremony for laying the

foundation stone. Thirty two gods have to be worshipped on the
occasion (outside the house). Their names are Ishana, Parjanya,
Jayanta, Indra, Surya, Satya Bhrigu, Akasha, Vayu, Pusha, Vitatha,
Grahanakshatra, Yama, Gandharva, Brigu, Raja, Mriga, the Pitris,
Doubarika, Sugriva, Pushpadanta, Ganadhipa, Asura, Shesha, Pada,
Roga, Ahimukhya, Bhallata, Soma, Sarpa, Aditi and Diti. These gods
are to be worshipped outside the premises of the house. Inside the
premises of the house one worships the four gods Apah, Savitra,
Jaya and Rudra.
A temple should be built in front of the house, Gates and doors and
places for performing sacrifices should be towards the east. The
north is reserved for a storehouse. The pond can be towards the
west and the guesthouse will be to the south.
Calculate the area of the house by multiplying the length with the
breadth. Multiply the area by eight and divide by sixty-four. Or
simply, divide the area by eight. The remainder determines the sort
of life that the owner of the house is going to live. You can also
divide the area of the house by five. The remainder now determines
how the owner of the house is going to die.
The height of a door should be exactly double its width. Preferably,
a house should have eight doors.

Temples:

Temples should be constructed so as to have one spire, three spires,

or five spires. There are essentially five types of temples. Their
names are Vairaja, Pushpaka, Kailasa, Malaka and Tripishtapa. The
difference lie in the shapes. Vairaja is square, Pushpaka
rectangular, Kailasa circular, Malaka oval and Tripishtaka
octagonal. Of course, there may be many variations within these
five basic types.
Near the gate of the temple should be a place where plays can be
enacted. The priests should live at slight distance from the temple.
It must always be unsured that the temple is surrounded with fruits,
flowers, water and creepers.

Varnashrama Dharma:

Varnashrama dharma is characterised by the duties of the four

classes and the four stages in life.
The brahmana’s duties are to perform religious sacrifices, donate
alms, study and teach. Kshatriyas and vaishyas should also perform
sacrifices, donate alms and study. But the primary duty of
kshatriyas is to rule, while that of vaishyas is to practice agriculture.
Shudras earn their living as artisans. Their duty is to serve the other
three classes.
In the first stage in life (brahmacharya), one is a student. One begs
for a living and serves one’s teacher. Next comes the householder
stage (garhasthya). A householder should perform sacrifices,
worship gods, donate alms and serve guests. In the forest-dwelling
stage (vanaprastha), one goes to the forest and lives on fruits and
roots. Such a person studies the Vedas and performs tapasya. The
final phase is hermithood (sannyasa), A hermit seeks to attain yoga,
the union of the atman (human soul) with the brahaman (divine
essence).
A brahmana who performs his duties well goes to a sacred place
named prajapatya. A kshatriya goes to indraloka, a vaishya to
vayuloka and a shudra to gandharvaloka.
One should get up right at the stroke of dawn. After thinking of
Vishnu, it is time to have a bath. It is best to bathe in the morning.
A sinner who does this is freed from all sins. There are however six
types of baths and their names are brahma, agneya, vayavya, divya,
varuna, and yougika. In a brahma bath one chants mantras while
sprinkling water on one’s body. To rub one’s body with ashes is to
have an agneya bath. To do the same with cowdung is to have a
vagavya bath. Sunbathing means having a divya bath. In a varuna
bath one bathes with water. And if one meditates on Vishnu, one
can have a yougika bath, without doing anything else.
Teeth should always be brushed while facing the east.

Donating Alms
Donating alms is the best form of dharma. A person who donates is
blessed in this and later lives. Donating alms is known as dana.
There are four types of dana: nitya, naimittika, kamya and vimala.
Nitya dana takes place when donations are made to brahmanas
without expecting anything in return. When donations are made as
penance or to take care of ill omens, that is known as naimittika
dana. Kamya dana takes place when donations are made to attain
children, victory, or wealth. Vimala dana consists of donations made
simply for the sake of pleasing God.
A person who gives sugarcane, grain, cattle and land to brahmanas
is not born again. The best article to donate is land.
A sinner who restrains others from donating alms is born as a bird in
his next life.

Prayashchitta:

Prayashchitta is to make atonement for one’s sins. The worst sin of

all is to kill a brahmana. A sinner who does this should make a hut
of dry grass and leaves and live in it for twelve years. Or he may
fast himself to death or commit suicide by jumping off a cliff.
Immolating oneself or drowning oneself are also acceptable forms of
penance. Sometimes less severe types of punishment may be
allowed such as, giving food to learned brahmanas. The three holy
rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati have a place of confluence and
that is a tirtha (place of pilgrimage). If one fasts for three days and
nights and bathes at this tirtha, the sin of killing a brahmana is also
pardoned.
A brahmana who steals gold is beaten by the king with a club. He
then lives in a grass hut for twelve years.
A drinker has to perform the penance of drinking hot wine, followed
by swallowing milk, clarified butter or the urine of a cow.
A person who happens to die at a tirtha obtains pardon for all his
sins. A woman who burns herself to death on her husband’s funeral
pyre makes atonement for all the sins that her husband may have
committed. A wife who serves her husband faithfully never commits
in the first place.

Geography:

The earth is divided into seven regions (dvipas) whose names are
Jambudvipa, Plakshadvipa, Shalmaladvipa, Kushadvipa,
Krounchadvipa, Shakadvipa and Pushkaradvipa. The seven regions
are surrounded by seven seas. The names of the seas are Lavana,
Ikshu, Sura, Sarpi, Dadhi, Dugdha and Jala.
Jambudvipa is divided into nine parts (varshas). Their names are
Nabhi, Kimpurusha, Harivarsha, Ilavrita, Ramya, Hiranvana, Kuru,
Bhadrashva and Ketumala. Nabhivarsha eventually came to be
known as Bharatavarsha.
Ilavritavarsha is right in the centre of Jambudvipa. And in the
middle of Ilavritavarsha is Mount Sumeru, like the stem of a lotus
flower. The mountain ranges Himalaya, Hemakuta and Nishada are
to the south Mount Sumeru and the mountain ranges Nila, Shveta
and Shringavana are to the north of Mount Sumeru.
Bhadrashvavarsha is the east of Sumer, Hiranvanavarsha to the
sout-east, Kimpurushavarsha and Bharatavarsha to the south,
Harivarsha to the south-west, Ketumalavarsha to the west,
Ramyakavarsha to the north-west and Khruvarsha to the north.
Bharatavarsha itself is divided into nine parts. Eight of these parts
are named Indradvipa, Kasherumana, Tamravarna, Gabhastimana,
Nagadvipa, Kataha, Simhala and Varuna. The ninth part is named
Sagaradvipa and is surrounded by the ocean. To the east of
Bharatavarsha live the kiratas, to the west the yavana, to the south
the andhras and to the north the turushkas.
The seven main mountain ranges of Bharatavarsha are Mahendra,
Malaya, Sahya, Shuktimana, Riksha, Vindhya and Paribhadra.
The kingdoms which are in the centre of Bharatavarsha are named
Panchala, Kuru, Matsya, Youdheya, Patacchara, Kunti and Shurasena,
Padma, Suta, Magadha, Chedi, Kashaya, Videha and Koshala are
kingdoms that are to the east. In the south-east are the kingdoms
of Kalinga, Banga, Pundra, Anga, Vidarbha and Mulaka. The
kingdoms of Pulinda, Ashmaka, Jimuta, Nayarashtra, Karnata,
Kamboja, Ghata, Daksinapatha, Ambashtha, Dravida, Lata,
Strimukha, Shaka and Anarta are in the south-west. Toward the
west are the kingdoms of Sindhu, Yavana, Mathura and Nishada.
The kingdoms of Mandavya, Tushara, Mulika, Musha, Khasha,
Mahakesha and Mahanada ae in the north-west. And the kingdoms
of Lambaka, Stana, Naga, Madra, Gandhara and Vahlika aer in the
north. In the north-west are Tigarta, Nila, Kolabha, Abhishaha and
Kashmira.
There are seven underworlds (patala) under the earth. Their names
are Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Mahatala, Sutala, Patala and Gabhastimata.
The daityas and the bhujangas (snakes) lives there.

Astronomy and Astrology:

The sun’s (surya) chariot is drawn by seven horses:

Their names are Gayatri, Vrihati, Ushnika, Jagati, Trishtupa,

Anushtapa and Pamkti. The moon’s (chandra) chariot is drawn by
ten horses and the horses are completely white.

There are twenty-seven nakshatras (stars) in the sky:

Their names are Ashvini, Bharani, Krittika, Rohini, Mrigashira, Ardra,

Punarvasu, Pushya, Ashlesha, Magha, Purvafalguni, Uttarafalguni,
Hasta, Chitra, Savti, Vishakha, Anuradha, Jyeshtha, Mula,
Purvashada, Uttarashada, Shravana, Dhanishtha, Shatabhisha,
Purvabhadrapada, Uttarabhadrapada and Revati.
It is auspicious to begin a journey when Ashvini, Anuradha, Revati,
Mrigashira, Mula, Punarvasu, Pushya, Hasta or Jyeshtha is in the sky.
New clothes should be worn when Hasta, Chitra, Svati, Vishakha,
Anuradha, Uttarafalguni, Uttarashada, Uttarabhadrapada, Ashvini,
Rohini, Pushya, Dhanishtha, or Punarvasu is in the sky. Wells and
ponds are to be dug when Krittika, Bharani, Ashlesha, Magha, Mula,
Vishakha, Purvafalguni, Purvashada or Purvabhadrapada is in the
sky. These nakshatras are also auspicious for harvesting crops or for
building temples. Sowing of seeds should take place when Revati,
Ashvini, Chitra, Svati, Hasta, Punarvasu, Anuradha, Mrigashita or
Jyeshtha is in the sky. These stars are also auspicious for building
boats. Coronations are to be fixed when Rohini, Ardra, Pushya,
Dhanishtha, Uttarafalguni, Uttarashada, Uttarabhadrapada,
Shatabhisha or Shravana is in the sky.

A tithi is a lunar day. The fourth (chaturthi). Sixth (shashthi , eighth

(ashtami), ninth (navami), twelfth (dvadashi), fourteenth
(chaturdashi) lunar days and the day of the new moon (amavasya)
and the day of the full moon (purnima) are inauspicious.

Nothing important should be begun on such days. Never travel on

the following days-shashthi in the months of Vaishakha and
Shravana, ashtami in the months of Ashvina and Ashada, chaturthi
in the months of Jyaishtha and Falguna, dvadashi in the months of
Magha and Kartika, dashmi (the tenth lunar day) in the month of
Agrahayana and Bhadra and chaturdashi in the months of Pousha
and Chaitra.

There are twelve signs of the Zodic (rashi). Their names are Mesha
(Aries), Vrisha (Taurus), Mithuna, (Gemini), Karkata (Cancer), Simha
(Leo), Kanya (Virgo), Tula (Libra, Vrishchika (Scorpio), Dhanu
(Saggitarius), Makara (Capricorn), Kumbha (Aquarius) and Mina
(Pisces).

The sign under which a person is born is known as janma rashi.

Consider the position of the moon in relation to the janma rashi. If
the moon is in the jama rashi itself, the person will always be
satisfied. The janma rashi is known as the first house. The next
rashi is the second house and so on and so forth until one has the
twelfth house. If the moon is in the second house, the person will
be poor. A moon in the third house signifies honour shown by the
king, in the fourth house quarrels, in the fifth house marriage, in the
sixth house wealth, in the seventh house honour, in the eighth
house threat to life, in the ninth house riches, in the tenth house
success, in the eleventh house victory and in the twelth house
certain death.

The following conjuctions of planets bode well. Shukra (Venus) and

Chandra in the first house; Chandra, Budha (Mercury), Shukra and
Brihaspati (Jupiter) in the second house; Mangala (Mars), Shani
(Saturn) and Surya in the third house; Budha in the fourth house;
Shukra, Brihaspati Chandra and Ketu (no real counterpart in English,
sometimes identified with Pluto) in the fifth house; Shani, Surya and
Mangala in the sixth house; Brihaspati and Chandra in the seventh
house; Budha and Shukra in the eight house; Brihaspati in the ninth
house; Surya, Shani and Chandra in the tenth house; and Budha and
Shukra in the twelfth house. All planets are good in the eleventh
house.

A Leo bride should be married to a Capricorn groom, An Aries bride

to a Virgo groom, a Libra bride to a Pisces groom, an Aquarius bride
to a Cancer groom, A Saggitarius bride to a Taurus groom, a Gemini
bride to a Scorpio groom. Such marriages bring happiness.

Physiognomy:

It is important to be able to tell the nature of men and women by

their physical characteristics. This is physiognomy.
A man who will be king will have soft feet which do not sweat. The
toes will be even and no veins will be seen on his legs. A man who
will be king is known also by round thighs and very little body hair.
Each pore on his body will have ony one hair in it.
A man who will be poor is known by rough nails on his toes. Veins
will be seen on his face. The toes will be dry and he will flat-footed.
He will also have three hairs in each of his pores.

A person with two hairs in each of his pores in each of his pores
becomes a learned man.
Person with spindly thighs always suffer from ill health.

Lines can be seen on a man’s forehead. The number of such lines

determines how long he is going to live. A person with three lines
lives for sixty years, one with two lines for forty years and a person
with one line for twenty years. If a single line extends right across
the forehead, the person will die at a very young age. But if three
lines extend right across the forehead, the person will live for a
hundred years.

A woman with a round face brings prosperity to her household. A

women with round eyes becomes a widow and suffers for life. Large
eyes and red lips mean that the woman will always be happy. If
there are many lines on a woman’s palm, she will always suffer. But
if there are few lines on a woman’s palm, she will always be poor. If
you see the sign of a chakra on woman’s palm, she will become
either the wife or the mother of a king. A woman with bright eyes
has good fortune, one with shining teeth gets good food to eat and
one with glowing skin gets excellent beds to sleep on.

A man with a long nose is fortunate. A man with a bent nose is a

thief and a man with a nose bent to the right is cruel. A man who
has sneezes one at a time is strong. You will know a man who is
always content by the fact that he has many sneezes at a time. A
persoN who speaks in a nasal tone lives to an old age. Eyes like a
cat’s eyes indicate a sinner. Cross-eyed men are cruel. A man with
symmetric eyebrows is poor. If a man cries but the tears cannot be
seen, that man is sure to be unfortunate.

Look at the life line on a woman’s palm. If the line is thick, she wil
have many sons. But if the life is thin, she will have many
daughters. Those whose life lines are split into many parts do not
live for a long. But those who life lines are long and unbroken live to
a ripe old age.
This science of physiognomy is known as samudrika shastra.

Jewels:

A long time back, there used to be a demon named Balasura. He

defeated Indra and the other gods. Balasura was invincible. Not
knowning what to do, the gods arranged a yajna. They then went to
Balasura and ask him for his body so that it might be offered as a
sacrifice at the yajna. The demon was generous and he was not
going to refuse a request. He gave his body to the gods.
The gods ascended a vimana (space vehicle) and were travelling
through the sky with Balasura’s body. But the vimana was moving
so fast that Balasura’s body fell off. It broke into many parts which
got scattered throughout the earth. Wherever a part of the body
fell, earth, mountain or garden, that place became a source of
jewels and precious stones.
There are many types of jewels. Some of the more important ones
are vajra (diamond), mukta (pearl), mani, padmaraga (ruby),
marakata, (emerald), indranila, (sapphire), vaidurya, pushparaga
(topaz), karketana, pulaka, rudhira, sphatika (crystal) and pravala
(coral).
Vajra or hiraka was formed from Balasura’s bones. Diamonds can be
of many colors, coppery, milky-white, blue, golden, yellow and dark.
Red and yellow diamonds should be worn only by a king, not by
anone else. A multi-colored and round diamond should not be worn
indiscriminately. It can cause great suffering, and due precautions
have to be taken before such a diamond is worn as adornment.
Even Indra takes care before wearing such a diamond. A hexagonal
diamond is extremely rare and brings good fortune. A diamond is
valuable because it can cut and mark any other object. But a
diamond cannot be cut or marked except by another diamond.
Muktas (pearls) can be obtained from eight different places from
elephants, clouds, boars, conch-shells, fishes, snakes, oysters and
bamboos. But oysters are the most common source. Pearls got
from bamboos, elephants, fishes, conch-shells and boars are not at
all bright. Balasura’s teeth fell into the ocean. There the teeth
entered the bodies of oysters and became the seeds for pearls. A
pearl which weights half a tola (weight) is worth 1305 coins. There
are several other grades for pearls, the worths being 800, 783, 325,
200, 110, 100, 97, 40, 30, 14, 11 and 9 coins respectively. If you
need to polish a pearl, put it inside the stomach of fish. Cover the
fish with clay and roast it. The pearl should then be taken out and
washed with milk, wine and water. It will become bright and
shining. What happens if one suspects that a pearl is not genuine?
It should be kept in saline water for a night and then dried. If its
colour does not fade, it is a genuine pearl.
Balasura’s blood fell into a river. In fact, at first it had not fallen into
the river at all, but was retained by the sun. But Ravana, king of
Lanka, once decided to attack the sun. And in the process, the sun
dropped Balasura’s bood into a river which came to be known as
Ravanaganga. This blood became rubies (padmaraga). Rubies are
red. Some of them may be tinged with a little bit of black or blue. A
good quality ruby should never be worn wih a bad quality ruby. The
wearer of a good quality ruby is protected from all misfortunes.
The king of the snakes is Vasuki. Vasuki accepted the bile (pitta)
that came out of Balasura’s body. The snake was traversing the sky
when he was suddenly attacked by Garuda. Garuda too wanted to
possess the bile. While the two were fighting, the bile fell into the
valley of a mountain. This bile gave birth to marakatas (emeralds).
Emeralds are generally green in color. The herbs which grow in
emerald mines are cures for sorts of poison. A true emerald never
fades in color.
Balasura’s eyes fell on the shores of the ocean. And these eyes
became indranila jewels (sapphires). Sapphires are tinged with
blue. A sapphire shoud never be flung into a fire. The person who
does this deed suffers great misfortune. A special sort of sapphire
is known as mahanila. It is dark blue in color and if it is kept
immersed in milk, the milk turns blue in color.
Balasura roared before he died. This roar echoed in a mountain
range named Vidura. And from the roar was born a gem known as
vaidurya, so called because it can be found on the mountain Vidura.
Vaiduryas are green or blue in color.
Balasura’s skin fell on the Himalayas. This skin was the origin of
pushparaga (topaz). A pushparaga is light yellow in colour. But if a
topaz is also tinged with red, it is known as kourandaka. And if a
topaz is slightly tinged with blue, it is known as somanaka. A woman
who does not have son will give birth to one if she wears a topaz.
Another type of jewel is named karketana. It originated from
Balasura’s nails. These nails fell into a bed of lotuses and there
created this gem. Karketana can be of many colors, red, milky-white,
yellow, copper-colored and blue. His jewel becomes brighter if it is
wrapped in gold leaf and burnt in a fire. Karketana is a good jewel
to wear if one wants to stay healthy or prolong one’s life.
Several other jewels were created from other parts of Balasura’s
anatomy.

Tirthas:
A tirtha is a place of pilgrimage and what can be a better place of
prilgrimage than the holy river Ganga? All places along the Ganga
are sacred. But holiest of all are Haridvara, Prayaga and
Gangasagra. A sinner who bathes in Prayaga is forgiven all his sins.
Varanasi is also a great tirtha, since Vishnu and Shiva are always
present there. Kurukshetra is a wonderful place for donating alms.
Other famous tirthas are Prabhasa, Dvaraka, Sarasvati and Kedara.
There continue to be arguments about which is a great place of
pilgrimage and which is not. This is slightly pointless. A tirtha is a
place where one meditates on the brahman. One does not
necessarily have to go to a geographical place known a tirtha to do
this. It can be done in one’s own house which then becomes a
tirtha.

But amongst the geographical places known as tirthas, Gaya is

justly famous. Many years ago, there used to be a demon named
Gayasura. This asura began to perform such difficult tapasya that
the gods felt oppressed. They went to Vishnu and wanted to know
what they might do about Gayasura. Vishnu promised the gods that
he would take care of the problem.
Gayasura had gone to collect some lotus flowers for his
prayers. After his exertions he felt tired and lay down to sleep .
Along came Vishnu and killed Gayasura with a mace. This happened
in the land known as Kikata. And that part of Kikata where
Gayasura’s body fell came to be known as Gaya. It is a sacred place
where it is auspicious to perform shraddha (funeral) ceremonies.
Four methods of salvation are earmarked for humans. The first is
knowledge of the brahman, the second a shraddha ceremony at
Gaya, the third is death in a cowshed and the fourth is dwelling on
the plains of Kurukshetra.
There is a story about a merchant named Vishala. The merchant
had gone to Gaya and had performed a ceremony for his late
ancestors. In his next life, the merchant was born as a prince, also
named Vishala. One day, Vishala saw a white being, a red being and
a black being in the sky.

Who are you?, he asked the beings.

The white being replied. I am your father. Because you performed a

ceremony for me in Gaya. I now live in heaven. The red being is my
father, your grandfather. He had committed the sin of killinga
brahmana. But because of your ceremony, he too lives in heaven.
The black being is my grandfather, your great-grandfather. He had
committed the sin of killing a sage. But thanks to your ceremony,
he too lives in heaven. You have freed us all through your action.

Manvantaras:

Each manvantara is an era and each such era is ruled over by a

Manu.
The first Manu was Svayambhuva.
The second Manu was Svarochisha.
The third Manu was Outtama.
The fourth Manu was Tamasa.
The fifth Manu was Raivata.
The sixth Manu was Chakshusha.
The seventh Manu is Vaivasvata. This is the manvantara that is
going on now. The remaining seven Manus will come in the future.

The eighth Manu will be Savarni.

The ninth Manu will be Dakshasavarni.
The tenth Manu will be Brahmasavarni.
The eleventh Manu will be Dharmasavarni.
The twelfth Manu will be Rudrasavarni.
The thirteenth Manu will be Rouchya.
The fourteenth Manu will be Indrasavarni.
This will bring us to the end of the kalpa (cycle) and the world will be
destroyed.

Ruchi:

There used to be a sage named Ruchi. He was not interested in

worldly pursuits and he spent his time wandering around the earth.
He never married, never had a house and only meditated and
travelled.
His ancestors came to see him. Ruchi, they said, Why aren’t you
getting married? It is your duty to get married and have sons. Unless
you have a son, we will continue to be in hell. Nor will you be able
to attain heaven through meditation alone.
I have no desire to get married, replied Ruchi. That only ties one
down and brings unhappiness. The atman gets tainted because of
bonds of attachment.
It is true that the atman needs to be purified. Retorted the
ancestors. But you are not going about it in the proper away.
Detachment from material interests do not mean that one should
not get married or become a householder. That would be an
avoidance of the issue. Go and get married and have children so
that neither you nor we have to go to hell.
Ruchi agreed to do what his ancestors had asked him to do. But he
had a problem. Who would agree to marry a poor old man like
him? He thought that he might pray to Brahma so that a solution
might be found. He spent a hundred years on such tapasya and at
the end of a hundred years, Brahma appeared before him. On
hearing Ruchi’s request, Brahma asked him to pray to his
ancestors. They would find a solution to his problem. Pleased with
Ruchi’s prayers, the ancestors produced an apsara named
Pramlocha. Pramlocha told Ruchi, I have a daughter named Manini.
Please marry her. Ruchi married Manini and they had many
children.

Marriages and Cross-breeds:

The bride and the groom must not have any blood ties with each
other, upto the ninth generation on the father’s side and upto the
seventh generation on the mother’s side. Brahmanas, kshatriyas
and vaishyas should never get married to shudras.

A brahmana groom can be married to a brahmana, kshatriya or

vaishya bride. A kshatriya groom is allowed to marry a kshatriya or
a vaishya bride. A vaishya groom should only marry a vaishya bride
and a shudra groom should only marry a shudra bride.
There are many types of marriage. In a brahma marriage, the groom
is invited and is given a bejewelled bride. A son born of such an
union rescues from hell twenty-one generations of his ancestors on
both his father’s side and his mother’s side.

A daivya marriage takes place when a daughter is given to the

priest of yajna.
The next form of marriage is arya. In this, two cows are accepted
from the groom as bride-price and the bride is then handed over
together with these cows. A son born of a daivya marriage rescues
from hell fourteen generations of his ancestors on both his father’s
side and his mother’s side. This compares with a mere six
generations for an arya marriage.

Six generations is all that are rescued from a son born of a

prajapatya marriage as well. In such a marriage, a bride is handed
over to a groom with the words. Together the two of you perform
dharma, An asura marriage takes place when a bride-price is
accepted for the bride.

When the bride and the groom fall in love with each other and get
married, that is called a gandharva form of marriage.

In the rakshasa form of marriage, a bride is kidnapped by the groom

and married. But the bride must be willing. If the bride is unwilling
and is abducted and married by the groom through trickery, that is
the paishacha form of marriage.

Brahma, daivya, arya and prajapatya marriages are recommended

for brahmanas. Gandharva and rakshasa marriages are
recommended for kshatriyas, asura marriages for vaishyas and
paishacha marriages for shudras. At the time of marriage, a
brahmana bride will only hold the groom’s hand. But a kshatriya
bride will in addition hold an arrow in her hand. And a vaishya bride
will hold a horsewhip in her hand.

A woman is looked after by her father when she is young, by her

husband when she is a woman and by her son when she is an old
lady.

Despite injuctions to the contrary, brahmana grooms have got

married to kshatriya, vaishya and shudra women. This has led to
the birth of cross-breeds. The son of a brahmana father and a
kshatriya mother is called a murddhabhishikta, the son of a
brahmana father and a vaishya mother an ambashtha, the son of a
brahmana father and a shudra mother a nishada.
The son of a kshatriya father and a vaishya mother is called a
mahishya, the son of a kshatriya father and a shudra mother an
ugra.

The son of a vasihya father and a shudra mother is a karana.

The offspring of a brahmana mother is called suta if the father is a

kshatriya, vaideha if the father is a vaishya and chandala if the
father is a shudra. The offspring of a kshatriya mother is called
magadha if the father is a vaishya and kshatta if the father is a
shudra. The offspring of a vaishya mother and a shudra father is
called ayogava.

Rebirth:

After having paid for some of his sins in naraka (hell), a sinner is
born again to pay for whatever has still not been accounted for.

The killer of a brahmana is first born as a dog, then progressively as

a camel, a donkey, a frog and an owl. A stealer of gold is born as a
worm or as an insect. The killer of a brahmana may also have
tuberculosis, while the stealer of gold may have misshapen teeth. A
person who steals food starves in his next life. A liar becomes dumb
in his next life. A stealer of oil is born as a cockroach and a stealer
of green vegetables as a peacock.
If you steal fragrant substances, you will be born as a mole and if
you steal foodgrains, you will born as a rat.
A stealer of fruits is born as monkey, a stealer of animal as a goat, a
stealer of milk as a crow, a stealer of meat as a vulture and a stealer
of salt gets only torn clothes to wear in his next life. Each receives
in accordance with what each deserves.

The King:

The king must conquer his enemies and rule his kingdom well
according to the dictates of dharma.
A maker of garlands plucks flowers from a tree, but he never uproots
the tree or destroys it. In the same fashion, the king will tax his
subjects. But the rate of taxation should not be so high as to
pauperise his subjects. The king will worship Vishnu and serve the
cause of cattle and brahmanas. He must not squander away his
wealth on idle pursuits.
The king must treat his subjects as his own children. He must
choose priests, ministers and servants who are wise, good and
faithful. Otherwise, the kingdom is sure to go to rack and ruin. The
king must not get disturbed if there is danger. He must face up to
adversity with fortitude and placidity. The danger will pass. The
moon vanishes during an eclipse, but does it not appear again?
A king should never lie. And he should never treat his servants
insolently. Servants are not happy if they are scolded all the
time. There are six traits that one looks for in a king. These are
initiative, bravery, patience, intelligence, strength and valour.
Extreme care must be taken to ensure that the right individuals are
employed as ministers, guards, priests and physicians.

Vratas:

A vrata is a special religious rite, performed in a specific month,

when a specific nakshatra is in the sky or on a particular tithi.

For exampe, on pratipada (the first day of the lunar fornight), one
can fast and pray to the god of fire and the god of wealth. This
grants prosperity. On the second day of the lunar fortnight
(dvitiya), one prays to Yama, Lakshmi and Vishnu for wealth. The
third day of the lunar fortnight (tritiya) is for Shiva and Parvati and
the fifth day of the lunar fortnight (panchami) for Vishnu. On the
sixth day of the lunar fortnight (shashithi) one prays to Kartikeya
and Surya and on the seventh day of the lunar fortnight (saptami) to
Surya. The tenth day of the lunar fortnight (dashami) is earmarked
for Yama and Chandra and the eleventh day of the lunar fortnight
(ekadashi) is earmarked for praying to the sages. The twelfth day of
the lunar fortnight (dvadashi) is earmarked for Vishnu, the thirteenth
(trayodashi) for the god of love and the fourteenth (chanturdashi)
for Shiva.
Shuklapakshha is the fortnight in which the moon waxes and
krishnapaksha is the fortnight in which the moon wanes. There are
thus two of each tithi in every month, one is shuklapaksha and the
other in krishnapaksha.
The god of love is Ananga and one particular vrata is called ananga
trayodashi. As the name implies, this consists of praying to the god
of love on trayodashi tithi. But the prayers are held only in
shuklapaksha and the vrata continues for one whole year. It yields
wives, children, good health and fortune.

Another vrata which gives good fortune is called akhanda dvadashi.

In the month of Agrahayana, throughout all of shuklapaksha, one
lives only on the five products (pancha gavya) that are obtained
from cows. These are cow’s milk, curds made from cow’s milk,
clarified butter made from cow’s milk, cow’s urine and cowdung.
Then one fasts on dvadashi tithi and worships Vishnu. For the
subsequent three months, alms are donated to brahmanas. This
completes the vrata.

Another well-known vrata is called bhishmapanchaka. This is begun

in the month of Kartika, on ekadasi tithi in shuklapaksha. First the
ancestors are worshipped, then Vishnu’s image is bathed and
worshipped. The prayers continue from ekadashi to purnima. The
first day, offerings of flowers are placed on the image’s feet; the
second, on the thighs; the third day, on the navel; the fourth day, on
the shoulders; and the fifth and final day, on the head. Throughout
the five days the devotee has to sleep on the floor. He eats
cowdung on the first day. Cow’s urine is drunk on the second day.
Mik is partaken on the third day, curd on the fourth day and pancha
gavya on the fifth day. If a devotee successfully competes this
vrata, all his desires are satisfied.

Perhaps the famous of vratas is shivaratri vrata. The occasion is the

chaturdashi in krishnapaksha that comes between the months of
Magha and Falguna. The devotee fasts during the day and stays
awake at night.

There is a story about shivarati. There used to be a king of the

nishadas named Sundarasena. Sundarasena took his dog with him
and went to the forest for a hunt. But he met with no success, there
were no animals that could be found. Both master and dog were
hungry and thirsty. They had no food, nor did they have any water to
drink. They entered a grove inside the forest and stayed
there. There is a tree named bilva that is sacred to Shiva. In the
grove there happened to be a bilva tree and there was a shiva linga
(image of Shiva), right under the tree. Sundarasena did not, of
course know this. But when he entered the grove, the bilva tree
shook and some leaves fell down on top of the shiva linga. An arrow
fell down from Sundarasena’s hand. And when he stooped to pick it
up, his hand brushed against the linga. Remember that Sunarasena
had fasted because he had neither food nor water.
Sundarasena returned home and in due course he died. Yama’s
messengers arrived to take Sundarasena to naraka. But Shiva’s
companions also arrived and they would not permit Sundarasena to
be taken to naraka. The nishada had prayed to Shiva on shivaratri
day, even if he had done it involuntarily. Sundarasena and his dog
were taken to Shiva and lived there happily ever after. Such are the
virtues of shivaratri vrata.

Another vrata is on ekadashi tithi. This involves simple fasting.

Kings like Mandhata observed ekadashi vrata and went on to
conquer the world. Amongst the several other vratas that the
Garuda purana lists, one might mention budhashtami vrata. This
observed on ashtami tithi if the day also happens to be a
Wednesday (budhavara). There is a story in connection with this
vrata.

There used to be a brahmana named Vira who lived in the city of

Pataliputra. His wife was Ramabha, his son Koushika and his
daughter Vijaya. Vira had a bull named Dhanapala. Koushika had
taken the bull to bathe in the Ganga, when some cowherds came
and stole the bull. Koushika looked everywhere for Dhanapala, but
could not find him. He was joined in his search by Vijaya. Brother
and sister searched all over the place in vain. The search made
them thirsty and they went to drink water in a pond. There they met
some women who observing religious rites in connection with a
vrata. We are hungry, said Koushika and Vijaya, Please give us some
foods to eat.
Wait a little while, replied the women. We are observing
budhashtami vrata. Why don’t you also perform the rites?
Koushika and Vijaya observed the vrata. After they had eaten, they
began to return home. Suddenly they were met by the cowherds
who said that they were sorry that they had stolen the
bull. Dhanapala was restored.
Later on, Vijaya was married to Yama. Koushika became the king of
Ayodhya. Vijaya discovered from her husband Yama that her parents
were suffering in naraka. She performed budhashtami vrata again
and her parents went straight to heaven. All the good fortune that
Vira and his family enjoyed was due to the vrata.
Dynasties:

Next the solar and lunar dynasties are described. The solar dynasty
owes its origin to Surya, son of Aditi. Surya’s son was Manu and
Manu’s son was Ikshvaku. In this line was born Rama of Ramayana
fame. There are no stories about the kings of the solar dynasty in
the Garuda Purana. It is merely a long list of names. So let us skip
the list altogether. If one wants to know about the solar dynasty, it
is better to read one of the other Puranas.
Brahma’s son was Atri and Atri’s son was Chandra. The lunar
dynasty owes its origin to Chandra’ son Budha. In this line were born
the Kauravas and the Yadavas. But again there are no stories about
the kings of the lunar dynasty in the Garuda Purana. We therefore
skip this long list of names as well.

The Garuda Purana then briefly summarise the stories of the

Ramayana, the Harivamsha and the Mahabharata.

Medicine:

Many chapters on ayurveda (medicine) follow Dhanvantari was the

originator of ayurveda and he taught it to the sage Sushruta. It is
these teachings that the Garuda Purana reproduces.

There are five steps to any medical treatment. The first is called
nidana. This means the diagnosis of a disease before the symptoms
have become manifest. This spills over into purvarupa. This is the
stage when the early symptoms of the disease begin to appear. Next
is rupa. In this stage all the symptoms appear. The fourth stage is
upashaya. This involves the teatment of the disease through
medicine, diet and other activities. The final stage of treatment in
samprapti. This the recovery stage.

There are many different types of fever (jvara). Fever may be

accompanied by hiccups, vomiting, eruptions on the skin, loss of
appetite, laziness and sleepiness. Other symptoms are headaches,
bodyaches, fainting fits, insomnia, delirium, sweating and thrist. This
is really the niddana part of fever and depending on the symptoms,
different types of fever with their causes are discussed. There follow
sections on the nidana of pleurisy, tuberculosis, heart problems,
cirrhosis, stomach problems, piles, leprosy, worms, rheumatism and
other ailments.

What are the medicines to be used? That naturally depends on the

disease, its causes and on the season. More importantly, it depends
on whether the disease is due to a problem with kafa (phlegm), pitta
(bile) or vayu (wind), or a combination of all three.

A doctor’s manual follows, with the medicines for different diseases.

Amongst the ingredients which are used for making medicines are
priyangu (black mustard seed), godhuma (wheat), pippali (pepper),
madhu (honey), bilva (a fruit), eranda (castor-oil), sarshapa
(mustard), padma patra (lotus leaves), kaksharah (a lentil popularly
known as khesari), palanka (spinach), dadimba (pomegranate),
keshara (saffron), matulung (a sort of lemon), haritaki (myrobalan),
panasa (jackfruit), draksha (grapes), kharjura (dates), ardraka
(ginger), maricha (black peper), himgu (asafoetida), saindhava
(rock-salt), ghrita (clarified butter), tita taila (oil of sesamum), ikshu
(sugarcane), guda (molasses), takra (buttermilk), yashtimadhu
(licorice), trifala (a mixture of three myrobalans), ashvagandha (the
physalis flexuosa plant), nila (indigo), yavakshara (nitrate of potash),
sharkara (sugar), haridra (turmeric), lashuna (garlic), rasajana (a
collirium), musta (fenugreek), shirisha (mimosa), ila (cardamon),
chandana (sandalwood), devadaru ( a sort of pine tree), hastidanta
(ivory), laksha (lac), palasha (the tree butea frondosa), tambula
(betel leaf ) and lavana (salt).

There is a herb named punarnava. When pushya nakshatra is in the

sky, this herb should be crushed and drunk with water. This ensures
that snakes avoid the house. Another way to take care of snakes is
to make an image of Garuda with the teeth of a bear. If this is worn,
snakes never come near the wearer. The root of the shalmali tree
can also be crushed and drunk with water if snakes are to be
repelled. But this must also be done when pushya nakshatra is in
the sky. The root of the lajjaluka (the sensitive plant mimosa pudica)
can be gathered when pushya nakshatra is in the sky. The root is
then crushed to extract the juice and the juice is smeared on the
hands. This ensures that one can catch snakes without any fear. If
despite this, a snake bites a person, the juice of the mahakala
creeper will take care of the poison.
Talismans:

A kavacha or talisman also has great utility in preventing

illnesses. One of the most powerful of talismans is the vishnu
kavacha. This should be worn with the following prayer.
I am praying to the great Lord Janardana and wearing this talisman
so that I am protected against all forms of illness. Let Vishnu protect
my front, Krishna my back, Hari my head and Janardana my heart.
Let Hrishikesha protect my mind. Keshava my tongue, Vasudeva my
eyes and Sankarshana my ears. Let Pradyumna protect my
nose. Aniruddha my skin, Vanamali my cheeks and Shrivatsa my
lower portions. May Vishnu’s chakra protect my left and may
Vishnu’s gada protect my right. Let Garuda help me in all my
endeavours.
Varaha will protect me in the water, vamana in danger, narasimha in
the forest and keshava everywhere. The Lord Hiranyagarbha wil
give me gold and the Lord Kapila will give me metals. Vishnu will
protect me form all my enemies. He will draw away my sins. He will
rule my mind and grant me wisdom and knowledge.
I have meditated on Vishnu and am putting on this talisman. I can
now fearlessly travel on earth, the elements cannot conquer
me. The gods are with me. I am protected against rakshasa,
pishachas, difficult roads, forests and drowning. I am protected
against theft, lightning, snake-bite and illness. The mantras that go
into the talisman have to be preserved with great secrecy.

Horses and Elephants:

The art of taking care of horses is known as ashvayurveda and the

art of taking care of elephants is known as gajayurveda.
There are four types of horses uttama, madhyama, kanishtha and
adhama. An uttama horse is four handlengths high and seven and a
half handlengths long. A madhyama horse is three and a half
handlengths high and six handlengths long. A kanishtha horse is
three handlengths high and less than six handlengths long (but
more than five handlengths). An adhama horse is two handlengths
high and five handlengths long . Adhama horses are to be avoided.

A horse that will live long is known by its short ears. If mustard,
clarified butter, sesamum, asafoetida and a piece of wood are tied in
a small piece of cloth around the horse’s neck, its general welfare is
ensured. Castor-oil, turmeric, garlic and rocksalt; mashed and mixed
together into a paste make a very effective remedy for wounds on
the horse’s body. If a horse is too thin, the juice of meat can be
added to its diet. Milk can also be added, particularly when the
horse is recovering from an illness.

Whatever medicines are used for horses can also be used for
elephants. But the dosage for elephants must be four times the
dosage used for horses. If an elephant is ill, feeding brahmanas and
donating jewels and cows ensure quick recovery. It also helps to tie
a garland around the elephant’s tusk and throw at it mustard seed
over which incantations have been chanted.

Funeral Ceremonies:

The Garuda Purana is often recited at funeral (shraddha)

ceremonies. The reason is that it has all the mantras that are to be
chanted at such ceremonies. If the rites are performed according to
these incantations, the ancestors are freed from all sins. On the
occasion of the ceremony, pindas (oblations) are offered to the dead
ancestors. And the rite has to be repeated exactly one year after the
date of death.

Yugas:

There are four yugs (eras). These are satyayuga, tretayuga,

dvaparayuga and kaliyuga.

In satyayuga, dharma reigns supreme. There is pity for other living

beings, donation of alms and meditation. Brahmanas are revered
and it is said that dharma has four legs in satyayuga. These four
legs are truthfulness, donation of alms, meditation and pity. Men live
for four thousand years in this era.

The next era is tretayuga. The brahmanas are overthrown in their

supremacy by the kshatriyas and it is the kshatriyas who flourish
and prosper. The vaishyas and the shudras continue to revere the
brahmanas. But dharma has only three legs, since there is no longer
any tapasya. Truthfulness, donation of alms and pity continue to
exist. People are devoted to Vishnu and do perform yajnas. In this
era, men live for a thousand years.

Next comes dvaparayuga. Now dharma has only two legs. Men live
only for four hundred years. But the brahmanas and the kshatriyas
continue to thrive. To bring the minds of men back to the path of
dharma, a Vedavyasa is born in every dvaparayuga. He divides the
Vedas and teaches men the eighteen forms of knowledge
(ashtadasha vidya). These are the Puranas, the dharma, shastras
(sacred texts), the four Vedas, nyaya, (doctrine), mimamsa
(philosophy), ayurveda (medicine) arthashastra (political economy),
gandharva shastra (singing), dhanurveda (the art of fighting) and
shadanga (six schools of philosophy).

The last of the four eras is kaliyuga, when dharma has only one leg
left to stand on. People become cruel and evil. Envy, dissatisfaction,
pride and violence are to be found everywhere. People are addicted
to lying, killing and sleeping. The Vedas are no longer revered and
robbers take over the cities. The kings themselves become
robbers. The brahmanas stop observing vratas and become worse
than shudras. Wealth is acquired through unethical means. Wives do
not obey their husbands. No one worship Vishnu. There is only one
virtue of kaliyuga. Since there is evil all around, even a little bit of
devotion to the cause of dharma pays handsome dividends. All that
one has to do to attain immense punya is to chant Krishna’s name.

True Knowledge:

Unhappiness comes from the sense of I and mine. As long as these

feelings are there, true knowledge is impossible. Eliminating these
means the elimination of one’s ego. If one thinks of ignorance as a
tree, the seed and the trunk of the tree are formed by the
ego. Houses and land are the tree’s branches, wives and sons
smaller branches and material wealth the tree’s leaves. Papa and
punya are the tree’s flowers, and happiness and unhappiness
fruits. People get tired of the hurly burly of life and seek comfort
under the tree’s shade. But these are transient comfort and
transient happiness. True happiness and true comfort come when
one recognises that the tree itself is an illusion.
Those who are learned chop down the tree with the axe of
knowledge. It is such people who can unite with the brahman and it
is such people who become truly free. As long as one is ignorant,
one confuses the physical being (jiva) with the soul (atman). What
really is knowledge? The place where one lives is a house. That
which provides nourishment is food. And that which removes
ignorance is knowledge. All else is useless.

A person seeking true knowledge meditates as follows.

I am not the physical body. I am the shining brahman. I have no

birth or death. I am the shining brahman. I have no connection with
the earth and whatever is in it. I am the shining brahman. I am
independent of the air, the sky and the five elements. I am the
shining brahman. I have no place of habitation, but I am
everywhere. I am the shining brahman. I cannot be smelt. I am the
shining brahman. I cannot be touched. I am the shining brahman. I
cannot speak or hear. I am the shining brahman. I have no senses. I
am the shining brahman. I have no breath of life. I am the shining
brahman. I am beyond all ignorance. I am the shining brahman. I
am always pure, always happy and all-knowing.

Those who can realize this knowledge are freed from all worldly
ties. It is only the ignorant who continue to be born again and again
on earth.

Yoga is the union of the atman with the brahman. Before this union
can be achieved, the intelligence, the mind and the senses have to
be controlled and concentrated on meditating on the
brahman. There are six techniques of yoga. These are known as
pranayama, japa, pratyahara, dhyana, dharana and
samadhi. Pranayama is the control over breath, while japa is the
repeated chanting of a mantra or Vishnu’s name. Pratyahara is
control over one’s senses. Dhyana is meditation on an object. The
object of meditation can be the brahman or even an image of
Vishnu’s . When dhyana is continuous and focused, it becomes
dharana. Samadhi is the final stage. This happens when the object
of meditation is seen everywhere. There is a complete sense of
union between and the atman and the brahman.
There is a tremendous sense of freedom when this knowledge is
attained. One feels as if one had been asleep earlier. It is realized
that the atman has nothing to do with the happiness or unhappiness
in a worldly life. A fire without smoke burns brighter. Once the
smoke of illusions is taken away, the atman shines brighter. This sort
of knowledge is far superior to whatever punya may be acquired
through a thousand yajnas.

This is the end of the purva khanda of the Garuda Purana.

Suta and the Other Sages:

The sages became slightly confused. They said, Romaharshana,

remove our confusion. We get the impression that once a person
dies, the atman regains a new physical body and is born again. And
that this happens immediately. We also get the impression that
once a person dies, he is first taken to Yama and made to suffer for
his sins. It is only after this that the atman is born again. Which of
the above two is correct?

Romaharshana replied, Let me relate to you the conversation that

took place between Garuda and Vishnu. That will remove your
doubt.

Garuda’s Questions:

Garuda once went on a tour of the world. He went to heaven, to the

earth and to the underworld. But his mind was not pacified, he was
greatly depressed. Because all he saw everywhere was
unhappiness. So he returned to vaikunthaloka, the place where
Vishnu lives.

Vaikunthaloka was a very nice place. Vishnu’s companions were

handsome to look and wore pretty clothes. They rode on
vimanas. The goddess Lakshmi was there with all her
companions. Vishnu sat there on his throne. His visage was calm, his
face was smiling and he had four arms.
Garuda bowed down before Vishnu.

How are you Garuda?, asked Vishnu. What are the places to which
you have travelled?

I have travelled everywhere except to Yama’s abode, replied

Garuda. But I have many questions for which I want answers. Why
are beings born on earth? And why do they die? What happens to
the senses once people die? Where do men go after they die? Why
is a shraddha ceremony performed? When the physical body dies,
what happened to the papa or punya that the person had acquired?
What exactly is death? Please tell me the answers to these
questions.

Vishnu’s Reply

Vishnu replied to some of these questions.

It is important to have a son so that the line may go on. A person

who has no son goes to the hell punnama. That is why a son is
called a putra. He rescues (trana) his father and his other ancestors
from punnama naraka, the hell named put.

When a person dies, Yama’s messengers (yamaduta) come to take

him to Yama. Yama’s messengers are terrible of appearance and
they hold sticks and clubs in their hands. The atman leaves the dead
physical body and adopts a very small form, as long as a finger. In
this form, the dead person is taken to Yama’s abode. The actions
performed in one’s life (karma) determine what is going to happen
to a dead person thereafter. He is first sent to hell to serve out his
sentence for the sins he has committed. Thereafter, he is born
again. And what he is born as depends on the karma of the earlier
life.

To take care of different types of sinners, there are different narakas.

The most important naraka is rourava, reserved for those who lie or
bear false witness. The hell has a long expanse and is full of huge
pits. These pits are full of burning coal. The sinner is let loose at one
end of the hell and is made to walk to the other end. Naturally, he
keeps falling into the pits and gets severly burnt. When he reaches
the other end of the hell, he is released from rourava. He then goes
to other hells if there are other sins to be accounted for.

Another hell is named maharourava. It is covered with burning

sands. The fires that burn there are so bright that they hurt the
sinner’s eyes. The sinner’s hands and feet are tied and he is thrown
into the hell. There he burns. To compound his miseries, the hell is
populated by fierce crows, vultures, wolves, mosquitoes and
scorpions. These bite him and sting him and eat his flesh as he
burns. After several years spent in maharourava, sinners are
released.

Unlike rourava and maharourava, the hell named atishita is

extemely cold. There is no light there and everything is in total
darkness. The only heat that sinners can generate is by clinging on
to each other’s bodies. There are hailstorms which make the skin
smart. And there is no food to eat. To satisfy their hunger, the
sinners end up eating each other’s flesh and blood and bones.

The hell named nikrintana is quite different. There sinners are tied to
stakes and their bodies are sliced with sharp chakras. The slicing
begins with the feet and then moved up the body to the head and
then again starts with the feet. The tragic part of this is that the
sinners do not die in the process. For as soon as a part of their body
is join up again. Thus a sinner does not die, but continues to endure
the misery. And so it continues for a thousand years before there is
release.

A hell named apratishtha is a place where sinners are whirled round

and round until they begin to vomit blood and their intestines come
out of their mouths.
Asipatravana naraka is a huge expanse. The edges of the hell are
extemely hot and there is a grove of trees in the centre. The centre
is also cooler. The sinners are let loose at the edges and they suffer
so much from the heat that they dash towards the centre. Asi means
sword and patra is the blade of a sword. Vana is a forest. The hell is
so named because the trees in the grove have leaves that are as
sharp as the blades of swords. When sinners dash into the grove,
their flesh is sliced with the leaves of the trees. And the grove is also
full of fierce dogs which immediately eat up the torn flesh.
Next is the hell named taptakumbha. This has hot (tapa) pots
(kumbha). The pots are full of boiling oil. The sinners are hung
upside down inside these pots and roasted. And while they are being
boiled in oil, vultures tear apart whatever portions of their bodies
continue to be exposed.

There are many hells. But the seven major ones are the ones that
have just been described rourava, maharourava, atishita, nikrintana,
apratishtha, asipatravana and taptakumbha.
All the hells are located under the earth. The hells are so terrible
that a single day there seems like a hundred years on
earth. Imprisonment in any naraka is for a fixed term. When all
these tenures in different hells are over, it is time for the sinner to
be born again. And what he is born as is determines by the karma of
his earlier life. The greater the sins he committed in his earlier life,
the more inferior the form he is born as. And so the cycle of birth,
atonement and rebirth continues.

Rewards for punya are received in heaven. But these rewards are
not forever. Once the term is over, the person has to be reborn.

From Death to Cremation:

When a person dies, his sons will first bathe the dead body and then
clothe it in a single piece of cloth. The boy is rubbed with
sandalwood paste. The sons then perform a rite known as
ekoddishta. This gives the right to cremeate the dead body. The rite
can be performed at the place of death, the door of the house, the
courtyard, the place where the dead body is resting, the cremation
ground or on the funeral pyre itself.

The sons will carry sesamum, sacrifical grass (kusha), clarified

butter and wood with them to the cremation ground. And on the way
to the cremation ground, hymns to Yama will be sung.

At the shmashana (cremation ground), another religious rite is

observed. A funeral pyre is made. The clothing that the dead person
is wearing is torn into two. The body is draped with half and the
remaining half is left in the shmashana for the ghost
(preta). Oblations (pinda) are offered to the dead man and clarified
butter is sprinkled on the corpse. The dead body is then placed on
the funeral pyre with the head facing the south.

The fire is lit with the words, Great Lord Agni, take this person to
heaven.

When the body is half-burnt, mantras are chanted and sesamum and
clairified butter sprinkled on the funeral pyre. This is the time to
start weeping for the dead. The ghost feels good if it hears these
sounds of mourning.

After the body is completely burnt, the sons offer oblations to the
dead and circle the funeral pyre. They then go to have a bath. And
while they have their bath, they must continue to say good things
about the dead person. Water is then taken in cupped palms and
offered to the dead man. This is known as tarpana (gratification) and
tarpana is performed once, thrice or ten times. The wet clothes are
changed after the tarpana is over.

One must not sorrow over the dead person after the tarpana and
after the dead body has been burnt. Such mourning merely makes
the ghost (preta) get attached to its earlier life, and serves no
purpose. If necessary, learned men can be called to discourse on the
transience of the physical body and the inevitability of death. This
gives comfort. On returning home from the cremation ground,
sacred objects must be touched first of all.

A child under two years of age is not cremated. The dead body is
buried. A wife can immolate herself on her husband’s funeraly
pyre. This brings great punya. She spends as many years in heaven
as there are hairs on her body. She even rescues her husband from
hell, no matter what sins her husband may have committed. The
husband joins the wife in heaven. This sort of immolation is always
recommended except when the woman happens to be pregnant. So
says the Garuda Purana.

There are some cases where cremation ceremonies are not to be

performed, nor are the dead offered pinda or tarpana. Such people
have to suffer in hell. These are instances of deaths rising from wild
animals, fire, cholera, posion, snake-bites, lightning, or outright
suicides. Funeral ceremonies performed in such cases do more harm
than good. A special religious rite has to be arranged for such
deaths. This is known as narayanavali. It is only if this is done that
the dead person does not have to go to hell. In the case of snake-
bite leading to death, the golden image of a snake has to be given
to a brahman along with a cow. Then the dead body is covered with
palasha leaves and other sacred objects. Then it burnt. This rite is
known as sarpavali.

One Year After Death:

Vishnu continued with the recital of funeral rites.

After the dead body has been burnt, there is a ten-day period of
mourning and impurity for the sons. Ths is known as ashoucha.
During this period, the sons must bathe three times a day and must
not eat any meat. They have to sleep on the floor. All studying and
all donation of alms are forbidden. The combing of hair is not
permitted. Food is to be eaten from clay vessels or placed on
leaves. No other vessels are to be used. On one of those ten days,
they must also fast throughout the day.
Every day, a pinda must be offered to the dead person. The same
article must be offered each day. Water must also be offered. After
the tenth pinda is offered on the tenth day, it is time for the sons to
get themselves purified. They must go outside the village to get
their hair cut, their beards shaved and their nails
clipped. Thereafter, a brahmana purifies himself by touching water,
a kshatriya by touching any animal that is used as a carrier, a
vaishya by touching a bridle and a shudra by touching a stick.
Heads of those who observe ashoucha and offer pinda are shaved
off.

But only those who are younger than the dead person get their
heads shaved. This seems slightly confusing. We have been talking
of sons observing ashoucha and offering pinda. They must be
younger than the dead person. The answer is that people other than
sons are also entitled to observe ashoucha and offer pinda. Such
people are known as sapindas of the dead man. Who are these
sapindasa? That will be explained later.

Why is the pinda at all offered? Each day’s pinda offerings are
divided into four parts. The first part is appropriated by Yama’s
messengers. The second part is used by the preta to survive. The
remaining two parts are used by the preta to reconstruct a body by
means of which he can travel to Yama’s abode. The first day’s share
makes the head. The second day’s share makes the ears, the eyes
and the nose. And so on and so forth until on the tenth day, the
body is complete.

On the eleventh day, a shraddha ceremony is held. This is the first

(adya) funeral ceremony, so it is known as adya shraddha. A bull
(vrisha) should be donated on that day, in which case, the ceremony
is known as vrishotsarga, Whatever objects were dear to the dead
man are to be donated on the eleventh day. Brahmanas are invited
and fed as this satisfies the preta.

For a period of one year, every month, on the date of death, a

shraddha ceremony continues to be held. Then a final shraddha
ceremony known as varshika shraddha is held. All of these
ceremonies are accompanied by the offering of pindas. For a period
of one year, a lamp is also lit outside the house for the sake of the
preta.

Why is this period of one year important? The adya shraddha takes
place on the eleventh day. Then on the thirteen day, Yama’s
messengers come for the preta. The preta now has a body, thanks
to the pindas offered on the first ten days. Yama’s messengers grab
this body and begin to drag it towards Yama’s abode. But the way is
long and it takes three hundred and forty-eight days for the journey
to be completed. The journey starts on the thirteenth day after
death. Therefore, it is almost a year after death when the preta
finally reaches Yama’s abode. During his long journey, the preta gets
no food or water. It lives on whatever offerings are made to it in the
form of pindas. It also repents whatever sins it has committed on
earth, because the time for reckoning is now near.

There are sixteen cities that have to be passed on the way to Yama’s
abode. Their names are Yamya, Souri, Nagendra, Gandharva,
Shailagama, Krouncha, Krura, Vichitra, Vahvapada, Duhkada,
Nankranda, Sutapta, Roudra, Payovarshana, Shitadhya, Vahubhiti. In
between the cities named Vichitra nd Vahvapada, the river Vaitarani
has to be crossed. This a terrible river and its currents are made of
blood. There are boats for crossing the river. But only those who
have donated cows on earth are allowed to cross by means of the
boats. The others are dragged through the current and their flesh
torn to shreds by fierce birds.

When the preta finally reaches Yama’s abode, he is taken before

Yama. Yama holds a danda (rod) in one hand and a pasha (noose) in
the other. His complexion is blue. Yama has two visages. A pleasant
one is displayed to the good and an awesome one to the sinners.
Yama decides, on the basis of past karma, where the preta is to be
taken.

After one year has passed, the preta reaches Yama’s abode. He is no
longer a preta, but becomes one of the ancestors. The varshika
shraddha that is performed is a recognition of this fact.

Vrishotsarga:

Garuda said, Lord Vishnu, please tell me more about vrishotsarga.

Who was the first one to perform this ceremony?

Vishnu told him the story of Viravahana.

There was a king named Viravahana who ruled in the city of
Viradha. Viravahana was a good king who ruled according to the
norms of righteouness. Once the king arrived at the sage
Vashishtha’s hermitage and thought that while he was there, he
might learn some words of wisdom from the sage.

Viravahana told Vashishtha, I have heard so much about Yama’s

tough dealing that I am scared. Please tell me how I can avoid
going to hell.
There are many paths to dharma. replied Vashishtha. The learned
have described these paths. But donating a bull is the best of them
all. A dead person who does not have a bull donated in his name on
the eleventh day after his death, is sure to go to hell. Why don’t you
donate a bull? Pick a bull that is five years of age and donate it with
one or two or four cows. Do you know what happened to
Dharmavatsa?

Viravahan did not, so Vashistha told him the story of Dharmavatsa.

Many years ago there was a brahmana named Dharmavatsa who
lived in the city of Vidha. He was devoted to Vishnu. The brahmana
once went to a hill to fetch some sacrificial grass. While he was
searching for grass in the forest, four handsome men came and
grabbed the brahmana. They lifted him up into the sky and began to
carry him far away. Eventually they arrived at a city with many gates
and palaces. The city was clearly a wealthy one.

The brahmana was not very sure whether this was a dream. Or
whether all of it was an illusion. By then, the brahmana had been
brought before a king. The king sat on a golden throne. The king
took up on seeing the brahmana and started to worship him with all
sorts of offerings.

Today I am blessed, said the king. I have seen you. Now please take
him back to where you brought him from, he instructed the four
handsome men.

Dharmavatsa was bewildered. Just a minute, he interrupted. Will

you please explain what is going on? What is this place and why was
I brought here? And why am I being taken back?

I like to see those who are fit to be worshipped, replied the King, you
follow the path of dharma and you are devoted to Vishnu. You were
brought here so that I might see you. Please pardon my
impertinence. As for the rest of the story, I can’t tell that. My
minister will tell you.

The minister’s name was Vipashchit and instructed by the King, he

began to relate the story.
In earlier life, the king used to live in the city of Viradha. His name
was Vishvambhara and he was a viradha. His name was
Vishvambhara and he was a vaishya. He worshipped the brahmanas,
prayed to the gods, looked after his relatives and cattle, donated
alms and served his guests well. Together with his wife, he
performed the duties of a householder extremely
well. Vishvambhara once went on a pilgrimage with his friends and
on this way back, he met the sage Lomasha. He bowed down before
Lomasha.
Vishvambhara, asked Lomasha. Where are you coming from? I am
very glad to see you. You are a good man.
I thought that my days on earth were numbered, replied
Vishvambhara. I am now old. It is time to do something about
acquiring punya. So my wife and I have been on prilgrimage wih our
friends. We have been to many tirthas and we have donated a lot of
alms.

Indeed, said Lomasha. Which are the tirthas that you have visited?

Vishvambhara recited a long list of names. Then he said, But my

mind continues to be attached to material possessions. Please tell
me, sage, what should I do?

Lomasha told him the story of the sage Narada.

In one of Narada’s earlier lives, Narada was born as the son of a

brahmana’s maid-servant. From the brahmana. Narada picked up
knowledge of the shastras. Once many sages came to visit the
brahmana, and from them, Narada learnt many more words of
wisdom. He learned the true nature of the atman and the virtues of
being devoted to Vishnu. This was the true knowledge that we have
earlier talked about.

Lomasha told Vishvambhara the nature of this true knowledge. This

pacified Vishvambhara’s mind. But Lomasha also said, You have
acquired a lot of punya.

However, I do think that all this is imcomplete without

vrishotsarga. Donating a bull is as good as performing an
ashvamedha sacrifice. Go to the tirtha named Pushkara and donate
a bull there.

Vishvambhara did as he had been told. This gave him so much

punya that in his next life he was born as a King named
Virapanchanana. The minister said that this was the king who had
Dharmavatsa brought to him. Since he liked to associate with
righteous men, King Virapanchanana had such men brought to him
so that he could worship them. And as for the beautiful and wealthy
city, all this was due to the punya acquired from vrishotsarga. The
minister concluded his story. The brahmana was taken back.
Having related the story of Dharmavatsa, the sage Vashishtha asked
Viravahana to organize a vishotsarga sacrifice. This Viravahana
did. And when he died, he was sent by Yama straight to heaven.
Such are the wonderful properties of vrishotsarga.
Santaptaka and the Ghosts:

There was a brahmana named Santaptaka who had lost all interest
in the material world. He lived in the forest and performed
tapasya. Santaptaka decided that he would like to go on a visit to
places of pilgrimage. But he lost his way and landed up in the
middle of a thick forest. The forest was so thick that even birds
could not fly inside it. Wild animals like lions, tigers, bears and
wolves roamed in it. It was also populated by rakshasas and
pishachas.

After Santaptaka had travelled a bit in this thick forest, he came

upon a banyan tree. A dead body hung from the tree and five ghosts
(preta) were eating the body. The ghosts were just like skeletons,
but their eyes were huge. They did not have any noses. With their
teeth and their nails, the ghosts tore to bits the flesh and the bones
of the dead body.

As soon as the ghosts saw Santaptaka, they came and grabbed

him. Two grasped his legs, two his hands and the fifth caught him by
the head, they pulled at the brahmana and each one said I saw him
first. I will eat him first.

The ghosts rose with the brahmana up into the sky and started to
discuss amongst themselves how much of meat there was in the
brahmana’s body. Santaptaka was frightened and didn’t know what
to do. So he began to pray to Vishnu. Vishnu naturally came when a
devotee was calling. But instead of interfering directly himself, he
called Manibhadra, the king of the Yakshas. He asked Manibhadra to
adopt the form of a preta himself and fight with the other ghosts for
the brahmana’s body.

Manibhadra did as he had been asked. Instructed by Vishnu, he

himself adopted the form of a fearsome ghost. With his legs he
fought with two of the other ghosts, with his hands he tackled two
others and with his head he struck the fifth. A terrible fight then
ensued between Manibhadra and the other ghosts. In the course of
the fighting, Manibhadra caught hold of the dead body that was in
the banyan tree and disappeared. When the ghosts saw that their
food was being taken away, they tried to pursue the king of the
Yakshas. But to no avail.

The ghosts then returned to eat the brahmana. But thanks to

Vishnu’s grace, they remembered the stories of their earlier
lives. They fell at the brahmana’s feet and begged for mercy. Pardon
us, they said. We have become pretas because of our earlier
karma. Our names are Paryushita, Suchimukha, Shighraga, Rodhaka
and Lekhaka.

Santaptaka was bewildered at these developments. But he said,

Since you have remembered the stories of your earlier lies, please
tell me how you came to be ghosts.

Paryushita’s story was that he once invited a brahmana to a

shraddha ceremony. But the brahmana was late in coming. After
waiting a long time for the brahmana, Paryushita became hungry
and ate the food. When the brahmana arrived, Parushita gave him
whatever food was left to eat. But since Paryushita had already
eaten some of the good, the food had become tainted
(paryushita). He was therefore cursed that he would be a preta.

Suchimukha’s story was that a brahmana woman had gone to a

tirtha named Bhadravata. She had her five year old son with
her. Suchimukha used to be a kshatriya. But he was an evil
kshatriya. He fell upon the brahmana woman and her son and stole
all their belongings. When the five year old boy tried to drink some
water from a pot, Suchimukha grabbed the pot and drank the water
himself. The boy died of fright and thirst. Stricken with grief, the
brahmana woman threw herself into a well and committed
suicide. Suchimukha became a ghost because of this sin. His mouth
(mukha) became as small as a needle (suhi) so that he had great
difficulty in eating or drinking.

Shighraga’s story was that he used to be a vaishya. With a friend he

went to a distant country to trade. The friend made huge profits. But
Shighraga lost all his capital. On their way home, they came to a
river. While his friend was sleeping with his head on Shighraga’s
lap. Shighraga flung his friend into the river and so killed him. He
then appropriated all his friend’s wealth. He returned home and
reported to his friend’s wife tha this friend had been killed by
bandits. The good woman was so grief-strickent hat she immolated
herself on a funeral pyre. When Shigraga died, he became a ghost
because of this sin. Shigra means quick and since he had quickly run
away after killing his friend, he came to be known as Shighraga.

Rodhaka’ s story was that he used to be a shudra. The king liked

Rodhaka and gave him a hundred villages to lord over. Rodhaka had
a brother. But such was his love for wealth that he deprived his
brother of all property. The brother lived in penury. Rodhaka’s
parents used to secretly help his brother and Rodhaka did not like
this at all. He not only berated them, but imprisoned and shackled
them as well. The parents took poison in the prison and died. The
young brother begged for a living. But eventually, he too died. This
sin turned Rodhaka into a ghost. Rodha means obstace or prison and
since he had imprisoned his parents, the ghost came to be known as
Rodhaka.

Lekhaka’s story was that he used to be a brahmana who lived in the

city of Avanti. He was employed by the king as a priest. In the
temple there were many images of gods and goddesses. The images
were bedecked with jewels and golden ornaments. Lekhaka could
not control his greed. With an iron implement, he prised out the
jewels and ornaments from the images. The images became
disfigured and the king resolved that he could kill the thief, even if
the thief happened to be a brahmana. This resolution so sacred
Lekhaka that he secretly entered the palace at night and killed the
king with a sword. He then fled with all the jewels and ornaments,
but was killed by a tiger in a forest. As a result of the sin Kekhaka
had committed, he became a preta. Kehana means to write or mark
and since he had marked the images, the came to be known as
Lekhaka.

After the stories had been told, Vishnu appeared before Santaptaka
and the five ghosts. The ghosts were pardoned. Six vimanas
descended and took Satnaptaka and the other five to vishnuloka.

A person who reads this wonderful story never becomes a ghost.

Sapindas:

Garuda asked, Lord Vishnu, you have told me that sapindas of a

dead person are entitled to perform funeral rites. But you have not
told who these sapindas are. Who are they?

Vishnu replied as follows.

Sapindas of a dead person his sons, grandsons, great-grandsons,

brothers, nephews (sons of brothers) and the sons of these
people. It is they who are entitled to perform funeral rites. If none of
these are available, wives are authorized to perform the task. And if
wives are also not available, the king has to take upon himself the
duty of performing the funeral rite.
If a person knows that he does not have any spindas, he can
perform his shraddha ceremony himself in advance, that is, before
his death.

Babhruvahana:

There was a king named Babhruvahana who ruled in the kingdom of

Banga. He was righteous king who looked after his subjects
well. There were no sinners in his kingdom. Nor were there any
thieves or diseases.

Once Babhruvahana went to the forest for a hunt. The forest was
full of lions and deer and the king killed many deers. A deer was
struck by an arrow and the king followed it. In the process, the king
got separated from his soldiers and companies. He felt very
thirsty. He found a pond where he could drink water. But
Babhruvahana was so tired by now that he thought that he would
rest for some time. He tied his horse to a banyan tree and fell asleep
under the tree.
As soon as the king fell asleep, a ghost arrived on the scene. He was
followed by hundreds and hundreds of ghosts. Their bodies were like
skeletons and they were looking for food to eat. They made such a
clamor that the king woke up. He saw the ghosts and grasped his
bow and arrow to shoot them. But the first preta was not at all
frightened and just stood there.
At this, Babhruvahana asked the preta, Who are you? Why have you
become a ghost?
The preta replied, I am blessed that I have met you. I shall no longer
remain a ghost. Those who do not have shraddha ceremonies
performed after their deaths become ghosts, as do those who die
unnatural deaths. That is the reason why we are here. Why don’t
you perform a funeral ceremony for the ghosts? That will free
us. You have the right, you are the king. It is decreed that the king
shall perform funeral rites for those who have no parents or children.

Babruvahana told the ghost, First tell me your story.

The ghost said that he used to be a vaishya named Sudeva who

lived in the city of Vaidesha. He always worshipped the gods. He
donated alms to brahmanas. He had never refused guests. But all
this amounted to nothing since Sudeva did not have any sons or
relatives who could perform a shraddha ceremony for
him. Accordingly, Sudeva turned into a ghost.

Babhruvahana returned to his capital and performed funeral rites for

the ghosts. The ghosts went straight to heaven. Sudeva gave
Babhruvahana a valuable gem as a token of his gratitude.

The Story of Rama and Sita:

Garuda asked, I don’t understand how the ancestors accept the

pindas that are offered. How do they come? They have no
bodies. Please explain this.

Vishnu replied, At every shraddha ceremony brahmanas are

invited. The ancestors enter the bodies of the brahmanas and thus
partake of the prindas. Let me tell you the story of Rama and Sita.

Rama and Sita had to go to the forest for fourteen years to ensure
that Dasharatha’s promise to Kaikeyi was not falsified. Dasharatha
was Rama’s father and Kaikeyi was Rama’s stepmother. Kaikeyi
wanted to make sure that her son Bharata, rather than Rama,
became king after Dasharatha.

In the forest, Rama learnt of Dasaratha’s death and a funeral

ceremony had to be performed. Sita cooked the food and several
sages were invited to the ceremony. But when the food was to be
served, Sita could not be found. Rama waited for Sita. But she did
not come. Finally, Rama served the guests himself. When the guests
had left, Sita appeared.

Where were you? asked Rama.

I was hiding, replied Sita. I was ashamed to appear before the

guests.

Ashamed of what? asked Rama. What was there to be ashamed of ?

I saw your father, grandfather and great-father sit down to eat with
the other guests, replied Sita. How could I appear before them in the
skins that I was wearing? I was also ashamed that we were going to
give these great kings such poor food to eat. I hid myself in shame
and waited until they had left.

That is how ancestors come to partake of food at a shraddha

ceremony together with the assembled guests. Garuda was
gratified to learn all this.

Hierarchy of Beings:

There is a hierarchy of beings. All living beings are divided into four
groups. The first group consists of those that are born from eggs,
the second of those that are born of sweat, the third of herbs and
plants, and the last of mammals. These four groups are respectively
known as andaja, svedaja, udbhijja and jarayuja.

Every atman has to be born in each of these forms twenty-one lakh

times, subject of course to consideration of papa and punya
performed in earlier lives. That is, an atman has to spend eighty-four
thousand lives on earth.

Amongst mammals, men are superior to all others and it is very

difficult for an atman to be born as a human. It is only if the atman
has acquired a lot of punya that it is born as a human. Living beings
are the best of all elements, intelligent living beings the best of all
living beings, humans the best of all intelligent beings, brahmanas
the best of all humans, learned brahmanas the best of all
brahmanas, and brahmanas blessed with the knowledge of the
brahman the best of all learned brahmanas.

Donations and Hells:

Garuda said, I have heard that all sorts of donations are to be made
at the time of the shraddha ceremony. What are the objects of these
donations? You haven’t explained these at all, except for the
donation of a bull in the case of vrishotsarga.

I will tell you about them now, replied Vishnu.

The first object that should be donated is an umbrella (chhatra). On

the way to Yama’s abode, the preta has to pass long stretches where
there is no shade at all and the sun shines very brightly. If an
umbrealla is donated, it can be held over the preta’s head as it is
taken Yama’s abode. The preta suffers less. The second object that
should be donated is a pair of sandals (paduka). There is a
possiblbility that the preta may land up in asipatravana naraka. If
you remember, there the sands are very hot and sinners have to
dash over the hot sands to a cool grove that is in the centre of the
hell. If sandals are donated, the preta does not have to walk over
these hot sands, but gets to ride a horse. The third object that
should be donated is a seat (asana). If a seat is donated, the preta
gets enough food to eat as it is taken to Yama. The fourth object that
should be donated is a water-pot (kamandalu). If a water-pot is
donated, the preta does not suffer from lack of drinking water on the
journey. The fifth object that should be donated is clothing
(vastra). If clothing is donated, Yama’s messengers do not torture
the preta on the journey. The sixth object that should be donated is
a ring (mudrika). If a ring is donated, Yama’s messengers allow the
preta to travel at his own pace. They do not rush him and goad him
to travel fast. The benefits of whatever is donated percolate through
to the preta himself. Sometimes they directly reach the preta.

I don’t understand how that is possible, said Garuda. How do they

reach the preta?

Varuna accepts these offerings, replied Vishnu. He then gives them

to the god Bhaskara. And Bhaskara takes these objects to the preta.
You had mentioned several hells, said Garuda. But you mentioned
the names of only the seven major ones. What are the names of
the others?

Vishnu told him the names of the other hells. They are tamisra,
lohashanku, shalmali, kudnala, kalasutra, putimirittika, sanghata,
lohatoka, savisha, sampratapana, mahanaraka, kakola, sanjivana,
mahapatha, avichi, andhatamisra, kumbhipaka and patana.

Together with the seven hells mentioned earlier, this gives a total of
twenty-five hells. There are actually supposed to be twenty-one
hells. Probably four of the hells have two names each. Or perhaps
the figure that is given elsewhere in the Garuda Purana, of there
being eighty-four lakh hells, is the right figure.

Ghosts:

Garuda asked, But sometimes ghosts come and pester people. How
do they manage to do that? How do they escape from hell?

In the same manner that prisoners escape from prison, answered

Vishnu. They come and disturb their friends and relatives.

They return to their old houses and cause all sorts of illnesses, such
as fever. They are positively delighted when people get headaches
or cholera. The more they loved their dear ones when they were
alive, the more harm they cause them as ghosts. It is in kaliyuga
that one has all these ghosts. There were no such ghosts is
satyayauga, dvaparayuga or tretayuga. These ghosts cause strife
among friends and kill animals and children.

How does one know that ghosts are around? asked Garuda.

The signs are fairly obvious, repied Vishnu. Animals die and friends
fight. There are sudden catastrophes. Children turn against their
parents, brahmanas are criticised and there are bad harvests. Fire
break out for no reason at all. Husband and wife fight all the
time. These are all signs.
What does one do if one knows that there are ghosts around? asked
Garuda.

I have already indirectly answered the questions, replied

Vishnu. Perform a funeral ceremony for the ghost. But it is also good
to consult someone who is learned in these matters, a diviner or
astrologer (daivajna).

A ghost is a sinner. And a person who knows that there are ghosts
around but does nothing about it, also becomes a sinner by
contamination. In his next life such a person is born poor, diseased,
without a living and does not have any sons. Or he may even be
born as an animal. If nothing is done about the ghosts, the ghosts
themselves realize after sometime that there is no hope for
salvation in haunting people. Their only hope for salvation lies in
returning to hell and serving out their terms of penance. So they
return to hell and give up the haunting.

The worst form of ghost is a pishacha. They are very

mischievous. They appear to their friends and relatives in all sorts of
different forms, as bulls, horses and elephants. They make sleepers
have nightmares. They frighten people. Sometimes pishachas
appear and beg for food. At other times, they steal food and
water. You will know a pishacha if you run into a cow or bull that
talks in the human tongue.

Friends and relatives discover that they are being carried (through
the sky) to all sorts of different places by the pishacha.

If it is known that a pishacha is around , the first thing that is to be

done is to bathe in a tirtha. A bliva tree is to be watered next. And
finally a ceremony is to be performed, at which learned brahmanas
are given grain.

Life:

Garuda said Lord Vishnu, the Vedas say that humans live for a
hundred years. And yet I find that very few people actually live for a
hundred years. Why is this?
You are quite right, answered Vishnu. The Vedas do indeed say that
humans live for a hundred years. But that is really their entitlement
of life. How long they actually live depends on the sins that they
commit. All sins lead to a lowering of life expectancy. Sins are there
to tempt anyone who is born as a human being. For the first five
years of life, there are very few sins to tempt a child. But thereafter
the temptations start and people succumb to these temptations
start and people succumb to these temptations. That is the reason
why very few people live to be a hundred years old. Why only a
hundred years? If people are completely righteous, they can even
be immortal.

A human being is called an infant (shishu) from birth to sixteen

months of age. From sixteen to twenty-seven months of age he is
called a child (bala or balaka). From twenty-seven months to live
years of age he is called a boy (kumara). From five years to nine
years of age he is called an adolesecent (pouganda). From nine to
sixteen years of age he is called a youth (kishora). Thereafter, he
becomes a young man (yuvaka).

The Human Body:

Vishnu next described to Garuda the human Body.

The human body is formed of skin(charma), blood (rakta), flesh

(mamsa), fat (meda), marrow (majja), bones (asthi), and life (jivana).

The five elements are the earth (kshit), water (apa), energy, (teja),
wind (vayu) and the sky (akasha). Each of these elements goes into
the constitution of the human body. The earth forms the skin, the
bones, the veins (nadi), the hair (roma) and the flesh. The water
forms parts like saliva (lala), marrow and blood. Energy gives rise to
hunger (kshudha), sleep (nidra), thirst (trishna), lassitude (alasya)
and lustre (kanti), The wind produces anger (raga), spite (dvesha),
modesty (lajja), fear (bhaya) and ignorance (moha). The sky gives
rise to holes (chhidra), gravity (gambhirya), hearing (shravana) and
mind (sattva).
There are several senses or faculties (indriya). The sense of
intelligence (buddhindriya) are the ears, the skin, the eyes, the
tongue and the nose. The senses of action (karmendriya) are objects
like the hands, the feet and speech.
There are ten veins in the body. Their names are ida, pingala,
sushumna, gandhari, hastijihva, pusha, yasha, alambusha, kuhu
andshankhini.

There are ten types of breath in the body. Their names are prana,
apana, samana, udana, vyana, naga, kurma, krikara, devadatta and
dhananjaya.

The body-hair on a human body number three and a half crores and
there are three lakh hairs on the head. Teeth number thrity-two and
nails twenty. Pala is an unit of measurement. There are one
thousand palas of flesh in the body, one hundred palas of blood, ten
palas of fat, ten palas of skin and twelve palas of marrow. So say
the learned men.

There is a complete correspondence between the human body and

the universe. The portion below the waist corresponds to the
underworld and the part above the waist to the upper regions. The
balls of the feet correspond to the underworld region tala, the
ankles to vitala, the calves to sutala, the knees to talatala, the
thighs to rasatala and the waist to patala. The navel corresponds to
bhuloka (the earth), the stomach tobhuvarloka, the heart to
svarloka, the throat to maharloka, the face to janaloka, the forehead
to tapoloka and the top of the head to satyaloka. All fourteen worlds
are thus to be found in the human body.

Epilogue:

Garuda obtained answers to all his questions. He touched Vishnu’s

feet and expressed his thanks.

He then went to the sage Kashyapa and recited the Garuda

Prana. The knoledge of this sacred text then percolated down a line
of sages, from Bhrigu to Vashishtha, from Vashishtha to Vamadeva,
from Vamadeva to Parashara, from Parashara to Vyasadeva and
from Vyasadeva to Romaharshana.

Romaharshana told the sages assembled in Naimisharanya. I have

now recited for you all that I had learnt. The person who reads this
Purana, or hears a recital of it, is guaranteed happiness in this world
and the next. This sacred text gives men true knowledge. This is a
purana that should always be revered. Let us finally thank
Vyasadeva for having passed this knowledge onto us.

Although Vyasadeva was not physically present there, the sages

recorded their thanks to him. They also thanked Romaharshana for
the pains he had taken. They kept saying, Romaharshana, you are
indeed blessed.

By then, the yajna that was being organized was

over. Romaharshana left the hermitage. And the sages went their
separate ways.

Great punya is acquired from reading or hearing the Garuda

Purana. But a word of warning. At the end of the recital, the reciter
should be given some alms. Otherwise, no punya is acquired at
all. The text of the Purana should be worshipped. The reciter should
then be worshipped with clothes, cows, food, gold and land.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Om Namo Narayanaya:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~