Garuḍa Purāṇa

Garuḍa Purāṇa, “the Purāṇa told to Garuḍa”

Vishṇu Sahasranāma has other meanings too: see all meanings of Vishṇu Sahasranāma.

The Garuḍa Purāṇa, also called the Garuḍa Purāṇa, is one of the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas, and it holds a distinct and revered place in Sanātana Dharma. Many people link this sacred text only with the rites of death and the afterlife, but it is in fact a full guide to life itself. It acts as a bridge between life in this world (Ihaloka) and the journey to the next world (Paraloka). It is a Vaishṇava Purāṇa. It does not only describe the glory of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa; it also teaches the jīva (the living being) how to live by dharma (righteousness), keep good health through Āyurveda, understand the nature of gems, govern kingdoms, and at last leave this body with dignity and reach moksha. To read the Garuḍa Purāṇa is to look into the mirror of cosmic justice and divine compassion.

Garuḍa composed the Purāṇa on the basis of what Bhagavān Vishṇu himself told him, and passed it on to Kaśyapa Mahārshi. It is named after Garuḍa, the divine vāhana (carrier) of Bhagavān Vishṇu, who both received this wisdom from Bhagavān Vishṇu and composed it as a purāṇa saṃhitā (a collected Purāṇa). In its content it is a Purāṇa of Vishṇu-kathā (the accounts of Bhagavān Vishṇu), encyclopaedic in scope: it covers theology, cosmology, rituals, ethics, astrology, gemology, pilgrimage to tīrthas, and what happens after death.

Significance

The significance of this scripture lies in its title. It is named the Garuḍa Purāṇa because the first to receive this wisdom was Garuḍa, the king of birds and the divine vāhana of Bhagavān Vishṇu. It is the highest truth given by Bhagavān Vishṇu, the sustainer of the universe, to his most devoted bhakta. This Purāṇa is held to be the highest authority on antyeshṭi (funeral rites), śrāddha (offerings to the ancestors) and the teaching of karma.

The Matsya Purāṇa describes the greatness of the Garuḍa Purāṇa in this verse:

yadā ca gāruḍe kalpe viśvamātmā maheśvaraḥ ।
garuḍāya dadau vidyāṃ tato gāruḍamucyate ॥

Meaning: That which Bhagavān Vishṇu, the great Īśvara, told to Garuḍa in the Gāruḍa Kalpa, giving him the highest knowledge, is called the Garuḍa Purāṇa.

The tradition gives it nineteen thousand verses (ślokas). It matters most in the days of mourning: it is the boat that carries the grieving family across the river of sorrow, and it guides the departed jīva across the dreaded Vaitaraṇī river.

Per Agni Purāṇa, the Garuḍa Purāṇa has 8,000 ślokas. It tells of the birth of Garutmān (Garuḍa) from the cosmic egg (viśvāṇḍa), and it is given in dāna together with a golden haṃsa (swan). In the same account Pushkara says that one who gives the Garuḍa Purāṇa with gold in the month of Caitra reaches Vishṇu-pada, the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 272).

Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the Garuḍa Purāṇa is the sixth in Sūta Maharshi‘s list of the eighteen Purāṇas, which runs from the Brahma to the Brahmāṇḍa. In the closing chapter of the Bhāgavata, Sūta tells the maharshis that it has 19,000 ślokas, and that the ślokas of all the Purāṇas together are four lakh (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapters 7, 13).

Garuḍa’s vara and the origin of the Purāṇa

The Ācāra Khaṇḍa (chapter 2) tells how the Purāṇa came to be. Long ago, Garuḍa performed great tapas (austerity) to please Bhagavān Vishṇu. Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared and offered him a vara (a boon). Garuḍa made three requests:

1. to free his mother Vinatā from slavery to the nāgas by obtaining amṛta (the nectar of immortality);
2. mahābala (great strength) to defeat the devas and achieve this;
3. the power to compose a purāṇa saṃhitā holding the accounts of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Bhagavān Vishṇu granted all three:

“O Pakshirāja! You shall obtain amṛta and free your mother from nāga-slavery. You shall defeat the devas. You shall become my vāhana permanently. I grant you the power to compose this purāṇa saṃhitā, which shall be known in the world by your name — Garuḍa Purāṇa.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu also declared: “The fame that my Purāṇas have among all Purāṇas, that same fame shall this Garuḍa Purāṇa have. Wherever my saṃkīrtana (singing of my names) takes place, your kīrti (fame) shall be there too.”

Garuḍa then told this Purāṇa to Kaśyapa Mahārshi. Through the Gāruḍī-vidyā he gained in this way, Kaśyapa could bring a burnt tree back to life. Garuḍa himself, through this vidyā (knowledge), brought many beings back to life.

Narrators and listeners

The Purāṇa is told through divine dialogues, which change from one section to the next:

• The main dialogue: Śrī Mahā Vishṇu gives the core teachings to Garuḍa.
• Preta Kāṇḍa: Here the text says that Śrī Mahā Vishṇu himself explains the mysteries of death and the afterlife to Paramaśiva. This conversation between Hari and Hara gives the text the highest sanctity. The Dharma Khaṇḍa (Preta Kalpam) is also set out as Bhagavān Vishṇu’s answers to Garuḍa’s questions.
• Brahma Kāṇḍa: Śrī Kṛshṇa speaks to Garuḍa.
• The ṛshis: As in the other Purāṇas, these divine conversations are in the end retold by Sūta to the ṛshis in Naimishāraṇya.

The line of transmission

The Garuḍa Purāṇa has its own chain of transmission, which is itself part of its sacred character:

1. Bhagavān Vishṇu told the Purāṇa to Śiva, Brahmā and the assembled devas at Śvetadvīpa.
2. Śiva passed it on as the highest sāra (essence).
3. Brahmā passed it to Veda Vyāsa.
4. Garuḍa had earlier received it directly from Bhagavān Vishṇu as a vara (described above) and passed it to Kaśyapa Mahārshi.
5. Veda Vyāsa told it to Sūta Mahārshi at Badarikāśrama.
6. Sūta Mahārshi, while on tīrtha-yātrā (a journey to holy places), came to Naimishāraṇya, where Śaunaka Maharshi and thousands of ṛshis were holding a sattra (a long yajña) of a thousand years. Sūta told the whole Purāṇa there.

When Veda Vyāsa told this line to Sūta, he recounted how Brahmā himself, together with Śiva, Nārada, Bhṛgu and others, went to Bhagavān Vishṇu at Śvetadvīpa, and how Bhagavān Vishṇu revealed the pārama-sāra (the highest essence): “I alone am all-knowing, all-pervading, the source and dissolution of this universe; all devas dwell within me; the sāra of all knowledge is meditation upon me.” (Ācāra Khaṇḍa, chapter 2)

The name Naimishāraṇya

The Garuḍa Purāṇa (Ācāra Khaṇḍa, chapter 1) explains the name Naimishāraṇya as the forest where knowledge grows nimesha by nimesha (moment by moment): nimesha nimeshaṇikī jñānaṃ perugunu ā araṇyame naimishāraṇyamu. The text says the form comes from nimesha through the Sanskrit ādivṛddhi process (nimesha becomes naimisha), just as śiva becomes śaiva and vishṇu becomes vaishṇava. Other purāṇic accounts derive the name from a battle.

Structure

The Garuḍa Purāṇa is divided into three major sections (khaṇḍas), each with its own spiritual purpose:

1. Ācāra Kāṇḍa (Karma Kāṇḍa): 240 chapters. The first part, on the right conduct of life. It is encyclopaedic, covering pūjā, ethics, medicine and the structure of the universe.
2. Preta Kāṇḍa (Dharma Kāṇḍa, also called the Preta Kalpam): 50 chapters. The second and most famous part, wholly about the journey of the jīva after death, the law of karma, and the rites for the ancestors.
3. Brahma Kāṇḍa (Moksha Kāṇḍa): 30 chapters.

The first section is often called the Pūrva Khaṇḍa, and the two later sections together are called the Uttara Khaṇḍa. Some editions call the Brahma Khaṇḍa the Moksha Khaṇḍa; some give no khaṇḍa names at all and use only Pūrvārdha (first half) and Uttarārdha (second half).

Ācāra Kāṇḍa (the section on conduct)

A fuller account is on Garuḍa Purāṇa’s Ācāra Khaṇḍa.

This large section of 240 chapters is a treasury of knowledge. It has 14 chapters on the marks of a Purāṇa, 61 chapters on the Dharma Śāstras, 8 chapters on ethics (nīti), and 43 chapters on subjects such as astronomy (khagola), physics (padārtha tattva) and grammar.

• Medicine and gemology: It gives 48 chapters to medicine (vaidyam) and 13 chapters to gemology (ratna śāstra).
• Pūjā of the devatās: Though it is a Vaishṇava Purāṇa, it is not sectarian. It describes the pūjā of Amṛteśvara Svāmi, who embodies Bhairava, Sūrya, Kṛshṇa, Śiva and Brahmā. It teaches the pūjā vidhāna (method of pūjā) for Vināyaka, Skanda, Viśākha and the Saptamātṛkas, along with rites for Indra, Sūrya, Agni and Candra.
• Mārkaṇḍeya Stuti: It contains a passage in which Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛshi praises Bhagavān Vishṇu with fourteen divine names.

Chapters 1–125

The first half of the Ācāra Khaṇḍa has 125 adhyāyas (chapters). Its scope is encyclopaedic:

• Theology and cosmology (chapters 1–7): the 22 avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu in their order, from Kaumāra to Kalki (listed below); creation (sṛshṭi) from Nārāyaṇa: the mānasa-sṛshṭi (the Manus, Rudras and ṛshis born from Brahmā‘s mind), Daksha Prajāpati’s creation of offspring, and the line of Dhruva.
• Pūjā vidhi (chapters 7–46): the Vajranābha-maṇḍala and the Nava-vyūha pūjā; pūjā of Lakshmī, of the Sudarśana Cakra and of Hayagrīva; pūjā of the five-faced (Pañcavaktra) Śiva, of Tripurā Devī and of Gaṇeśa; Gopāla, Śrīdhara, Sūrya, Durgā, and the Śiva-Vishṇu Pavitra Āropaṇa; Śālagrāma pūjā; dhyāna (meditation) on Brahmā; the Vāstu Maṇḍala; the building of temples (devālaya nirmāṇa); the consecration of a mūrti (deva pratishṭhā); the Vishṇu Pañjara Stotra, the protective stotra that Kātyāyanī used to slay Mahishāsura (chapter 13); and a Vishṇu Sahasranāma that is not the Mahābhārata one (chapter 15).
• Dharma Śāstra (chapters 49–65, 71–80): varṇāśrama dharma; nitya karma (daily duties); dāna dharma (the dharma of giving); the nine nidhis (treasures); the Bhuvana Kośa (the seven dvīpas, Meru, the geography of Bhāratavarsha, and the Pātāla lokas); the narakas and other lokas.
• Jyotisha (chapters 40–45): the daśās (periods) of the nine grahas, the nakshatras, the lagnas (rising signs), auspicious and inauspicious yogas; Sāmudrika Śāstra (signs on the body); Svarodaya Vijñāna (reading the prāṇa in the breath).
• Ratna Śāstra (chapters 46–56): the gems arose from the body of Balāsura, slain by Bhagavān Vishṇu, each kind of gem from one part of his body. Vajra (diamond), Muktā (pearls), Padmarāga, Marakata (emerald), Indranīla (sapphire), Vaidūrya (cat’s eye), Karketana, Puspyarāga, Bhīshmaka, Pulaka, Rudhirāksha, Spaṭika and Vidruma (coral) are described: their qualities, how to test them, and their benefits.
• Tīrtha Māhātmya (chapters 57–61): Gaṅgā, Prayāga, Vārāṇasī, Kurukshetra, Prabhāsa, Dvārakā and many others; the Gayā Māhātmya, with a detailed route through the tīrtha, the method of piṇḍa-dāna (offering rice balls to the departed) and the account of Gayāsura; the account of Viśāla the vaṇija (merchant), who had piṇḍa offered for a preta at Gayāśīrsha; the Ādi Gadādhara Māhātmya.
• Manvantara (chapter 62, adhyāya 87): all 14 manvantaras (ages of a Manu), with the name of each Manu, the Saptarshis, the name of the Indra, and the asura slain by Bhagavān Vishṇu in each; the 18 vidyās (ashṭādaśa vidyā).
• Pitṛ dharma (chapters 63–64): Ruci Prajāpati meets the Pitṛ-devatās (the ancestors) and they teach him gṛhastha dharma (the dharma of the householder); Ruci‘s Pitṛ-stotra of 31 stanzas (namas yāme…); the Pitṛ-devatās appear in radiance; Ruci receives Mālinī, daughter of the apsarā Pramlocā and Pushkara, as his wife; their son is Raucya Manu, the 13th Manu.
• Ācāra and nīti (chapters 65–82): Vishṇu amṛta dhyāna; varṇa dharma (taught by Yājñavalkya); gṛhastha dharma (detailed rules of conduct); vānaprastha; sannyāsa; karma vipāka (the ripening of actions); prāyaścitta (atonement); āśauca (ritual impurity); Parāśara on dharma; the Bṛhaspati Nīti Sāra, on political and social wisdom.
• Vratas (chapters 83–95, adhyāyas 113–125): an overview of the tithis (lunar days) and vratas (sacred vows); Ananga Trayodaśī (a twelve-month vrata to Bhagavān Śiva, from Mārgaśīra to Kārtika); Akhaṇḍa Dvādaśī; Agastya Arghya; Rambhā Tṛtīyā (a twelve-month vrata, first kept by Rambhā); Cāturmāsya; Māsopavāsa; Bhīshma Pañcaka (from Kārtika Ekādaśī to the full moon); the Śivarātri vrata, with the account of Sundarasena the Nishāda; the Ekādaśī Māhātmya (the account of Māndhātā, and Gāndhārī‘s warning).

The avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu

The Ācāra Khaṇḍa (chapter 1) lists 22 main avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu in this order:

1. Kaumāra (Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanat-kumāra and Sanatsujāta, four together)
2. Varāha (slew Hiraṇyāksha and lifted the earth from rasātala)
3. Nārada (the third avatāra; taught the Sāttvata-tantra, the Nārada Pāñcarātra)
4. Nara-Nārāyaṇa (severe tapas to protect dharma)
5. Kapila (revived the Sāṃkhya śāstra)
6. Dattātreya (son of Atri and Anasūyā; taught Alarka and Prahlāda)
7. Yajñadeva (son of Ruci Prajāpati and Ākūtī, in the Svāyambhuva Manvantara)
8. Ṛshabhadeva (son of Nābhi and Merudevī; set up the gṛhastha āśrama)
9. Pṛthu (milked the earth and gave grains and herbs to humankind)
10. Matsya (protected Vaivasvata Manu and all species at the pralaya, the dissolution)
11. Kūrma
12. Dhanvantari
13. Mohinī (Kūrma, Dhanvantari and Mohinī all belong to the churning for amṛta)
14. Narasiṃha (slew Hiraṇyakaśipu and protected Prahlāda)
15. Vāmana (drove Bali to pātāla and gave the three worlds back to Indra)
16. Paraśurāma (slew the kshatriyas who oppressed the brāhmaṇas)
17. Vyāsa (born of Parāśara and Satyavatī; arranged and taught the Vedas)
18. Rāma (son of Kauśalyā and Daśaratha; slew Rāvaṇa)
19. Balarāma
20. Kṛshṇa (slew the dānavas born in human form)
21. Buddha (to arise in Kīkaṭa deśa; will delude those hostile to dharma)
22. Kalki (to arise in the eighth saṃdhyā of the Kali Yuga as the son of the brāhmaṇa Vishṇuyaśā; will restore dharma)

Chapters 126–240

The second half of the Ācāra Khaṇḍa carries on in the same encyclopaedic way. It covers pūjā vidhi, royal lines, Āyurveda, special vidyās, grammar and chandas (metre), daily conduct, yoga, bhakti, stotras, and ends with brahma-jñāna (knowledge of Brahman).

• Pūjā vidhi (chapters 126–128): the Vishṇu-maṇḍala Pūjā (chapter 126), an elaborate maṇḍala pūjā with the dvāra-devatās (door guardians), the vyūha forms, the eight dikpālakas (guardians of the directions), Brahmā and Nāga; Bhīmaikādaśī (chapter 127), the Ekādaśī of the bright half of Māgha under Hasta nakshatra, with pūjā of the Varāha mūrti; Vrata Paribhāshā (chapter 128): the 10 sāmānya dharmas (general duties), the measures of pañcagavya (the five products of the cow), the rules for malimāsa (the intercalary month), and guidance on yugma-tithis (paired lunar days).
• Royal lines (chapters 138–145): the Sūrya-vaṃśa (chapter 138): Bhagavān Vishṇu, Brahmā, Daksha, Aditi, Vivasvat, Vaivasvata Manu (9 sons), and Ikshvāku down to Rāma; the Candra-vaṃśa (chapters 139–140): Nārāyaṇa, Atri, Candra, Budha, Purūravas; the Yadu-vaṃśa (Kṛshṇa, Balarāma); the Puru-vaṃśa (Bhīshma, the Pāṇḍavas); a summary of the avatāras (chapters 142–145), with the pativratā māhātmya (the glory of the faithful wife) in the account of Sumatī.
• Āyurveda (chapters 146–204): the Nidāna Khaṇḍa (chapters 146–167), on the diagnosis, prognosis and classing of diseases; the Cikitsā Khaṇḍa (chapters 168–204), on treatments, formulations and the medicine of animals.
• Special vidyās (chapters 195–197): the Vishṇudharmākhya vidyā (chapters 195–196): the nyāsa (placing on the body) of the twelve-syllable mantra and the avatāra-kavaca (protective armour of the avatāras); the Gāruḍī Vidyā (chapter 197): the maṇḍalas of the five elements, the eight great nāgas, and Garuḍa‘s cosmic form (virāṭ-rūpa).
• Sanskrit grammar and chandas (chapters 205–212): the basics of vyākaraṇa (grammar), the metres, and the principles of the Sanskrit language.
• Daily ācāra (chapters 213–222): Sadācāra (chapters 213–214): the 8 maṅgalas (auspicious things), the fivefold Vedic practice, the pōshya-varga (those one must support), and the 8 kinds of snāna (bathing); Tarpaṇa Vidhi (chapter 215): tarpaṇa to the devas, the ṛshis and the pitṛs, and the 14 names of Yama; Bali-Vaiśvadeva (chapter 216): the full order of offerings, and bali to all beings; Saṅkshipta Sandhyāvidhi, the short sandhyā rite (chapter 217): the purifying mantra, the nyāsa of the vyāhṛtis, and the gāyatrī; the Pārvaṇa Śrāddha (chapter 218); the Nitya, Vṛddhi and Ekodishṭa Śrāddhas (chapter 219); Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa (chapter 220); the Dharmasāra (chapter 221), on the ethics of dāna, karma and compassion; āśauca and prāyaścitta (chapter 222), the measures of pañcagavya, and the cāndrāyaṇa vrata.
• Yuga dharma and the 18 Purāṇas (chapters 223–224): the dharma of each yuga: Kṛta (dhyāna, a white Vishṇu, 4000 years), Tretā (japa, red, 1000 years), Dvāpara (arcana, yellow, 400 years), Kali (saṅkīrtana, dark, the name of Kṛshṇa); the 18 Purāṇas with a memory aid; the two pralayas, naimittika and prākṛtika.
• Karma-vipāka (chapter 225): the 12-day passage after death; the particular animal births that follow particular pāpas (sins); provision for the yoga-bhrashṭa (one who fell from yoga).
• Ashṭāṅga Yoga (chapter 226): taught by Dattātreya to Alarka: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi; japa of the praṇava (Om); Indra‘s position as a deva gained through the praṇava.
• Bhagavad-bhakti and nāmasaṅkīrtana (chapters 227–230): Bhagavān Vishṇu is pleased only by bhakti; Nārāyaṇa is the one conclusion of all śāstras; for a bhakta of Govinda, the Kali Yuga becomes the Kṛta Yuga; the name of Kṛshṇa is the antidote; the two amṛta-fruits; the 8 forms of bhakti.
• Stotras (chapters 231–234): the Nṛsiṃha Stotra (chapter 231), by Bhagavān Śiva; the Kulāmṛta Stotra (chapter 232), from Bhagavān Śiva to Nārada; the Mṛtyunivarakāshṭaka (chapter 233), by Mārkaṇḍeya; the Acyuta Stotra (chapter 234), from Brahmā to Nārada.
• Brahma-jñāna and yoga (chapters 235–236): Shaḍaṅga Yoga, the six-limbed yoga: prāṇāyāma, japa, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, samādhi and dhyāna; dhyāna with and without a seed (sabīja and nirbīja); the point between the eyebrows (bhrū-madhya) as the seat of buddhi; the advaita tattva: waking, dream and deep sleep (jāgrat, svapna, sushupti) as māyā, and the mind (citta) merging into Brahman.
• Gītāsāra and Brahmagītāsāra (chapters 237–240): the Gītāsāra (chapters 237–238), from Kṛshṇa to Nārada: ahiṃsā (non-violence) is supreme, Satyaṃ brūyāt…, the eight-limbed path to the parātman, and the inner light at the bhrū-madhya; the Brahmagītāsāra (chapters 239–240), from Brahmā to Nārada: Aham Brahmāsmi (with its vācyārtha and lakshyārtha, the direct and the implied meaning), the unfolding of the five elements, the 17 tattvas, the three bodies and three states, the example of the space inside a pot (ghaṭākāśa), Om as a + u + m with the nirguṇa ardha-mātrā (the half-measure beyond qualities), Tat tvam asi, and Vyāsa‘s last verse: Bhagavān Vishṇu as the cosmic tree whose fruit is moksha.

Preta Kāṇḍa (the section on the afterlife)

A fuller account is on Garuḍa Purāṇa’s Preta Khaṇḍa.

Also known as the Dharma Kāṇḍa, this section discusses in full death, the journey of the jīvātmā, and release from karma.

• The journey: It describes the omens seen before death, the dreadful path to naraka, the existence of a preta (ghost) (preta jīvana), and the punishments in naraka.
• Rites and accounts: It sets out omens in dreams and the funeral rites (apara karma) at great length. It includes accounts told by pretas about their own lives, among them the account of a Buddhist preta (Bauddhula Preta Kathā).

The Dharma Khaṇḍa, or Preta Kalpam

The Dharma Khaṇḍa, also called the Preta Kalpam, is the most celebrated section of the Garuḍa Purāṇa. It has forty-nine chapters, set out as Bhagavān Vishṇu‘s answers to Garuḍa‘s questions: what happens at death, the journey after death, the nature of the preta state, the remedies for the departed, and the final teaching on moksha. The frame is Sūta reciting to the assembled ṛshis at Naimishāraṇya.

It opens (chapter 1) with Garuḍa coming to Bhagavān Vishṇu with more than thirty questions about death. What happens at the moment of death? How is the preta body formed? What is the Yama-mārga (the path to Yama)? How does the Vaitaraṇī river affect the departed? What are the narakas, and which pāpas lead to them? What rites must the living relatives perform? How can moksha be reached even by those who died in inauspicious ways? These questions give the whole khaṇḍa its structure.

Main teachings of the Dharma Khaṇḍa

• Death and the rites before death (chapters 2–4): how a person dies; the prāṇa leaving through an opening of the body according to one’s karma; placing the dying on sacred earth; the gift of tulasī; the importance of the name of Nārāyaṇa at the moment of death. The ten great gifts (daśa-dānas): go (cow), bhūmi (land), tila (sesame), hiraṇya (gold), ājya (ghee), vāsa (cloth), dhānya (grain), guḍa (jaggery), rajata (silver) and lavaṇa (salt); the gift of the Vaitaraṇī cow. The Nārāyaṇa Bali rite and pañcaka-śānti.
• The preta body and daśagātra (chapter 5): the ten days of piṇḍa-dāna that build the preta‘s new subtle body part by part, from the head on the first day to hunger and thirst on the tenth. The rules of āśauca. The nava-śrāddhas (nine monthly śrāddhas) and the shoḍaśī śrāddhas (the sixteen śrāddhas of the first year). Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa on the twelfth day. The Yama-mārga with its sixteen cities and its verses of lament.
• Vṛshotsarga Vidhi (chapter 6): the rite of setting free a marked bull and heifer as the preta‘s carrier on the Yama-mārga; the Vedic mantras; the account of King Vīravāhana, Viśvambhara, and Nārada‘s past life.
• The five pretas and Samtaptaka (chapter 7): the brāhmaṇa Samtaptaka meets five pretas at a śmaśāna (cremation ground): Paryushita, Sūcīmukha, Śīghrag, Rodhaka and Lekhaka. They are freed through the name of Nārāyaṇa and śrāddha.
• Who may perform the last rites (chapter 8): the adhikārī for apara-karma; the jīvita-śrāddha (a śrāddha done while living); the seven names of Yama.
• Babhruvāhana and the hundred pretas (chapter 9): King Babhruvāhana frees one hundred pretas, led by the Vaiśya Devagupta (Pretavāhaṇa), through the Nārāyaṇa Bali.
• The nature and causes of the preta state (chapters 20–22): the preta body the size of a thumb (aṅgushṭha-mātra); the causes of becoming a preta (death in a pañcaka, violence, suicide, lack of saṃskāras); pretas speaking through dreams (svapna); the Nārāyaṇa Bali in detail.
• The body as a small universe (chapter 32): the body holds all fourteen lokas (Brahmaloka in the head, and the rest below), the seven sacred mountains, seven seas, nine grahas, and ten vāyus: prāṇa, apāna, samāna, udāna, vyāna, nāga, kūrma, kṛkara, devadatta and dhanañjaya. Five things are fixed in the womb: āyur (length of life), karma, vitta (wealth), vidyā (learning) and nidhanam (death). In the womb the jīva knows its past lives; Vishṇu-māyā makes it forget them at birth.
• Yama and Citragupta (chapter 33): Yamapura with its four gates facing the four directions; the palace of Citragupta and the cosmic record of karma; the vishṇudūtas and the yamadūtas.
• Rites after cremation (chapters 34–37): śayyā-dāna (the gift of a bed); the procedure of sapiṇḍīkaraṇa; pañcaka-śānti with five effigies of kuśa grass; tīrtha-maraṇa (dying at Kāśī); anaśana-vrata (a vow of fasting until death); udakuṃbha-dāna (the gift of a water pot).
• Pāpas and the births they bring (chapter 3): more than eighty particular links between pāpas and the animal or lower births that follow them.
• Seven narakas (chapter 3): Raurava, Mahā-raurava, Ati-śīta, Nikṛṃtana, Apratishṭhita, Asipatravana and Tapta-kumbha, with the pāpas that lead to each and a description of each.
• The Vaitaraṇī cow gift (chapter 47): the full procedure and mantra for the go-dāna that lets the jīva cross the Vaitaraṇī river.
• Moksha-dharma (chapters 48–49): the jīva as an aṃśa (part) of Brahman; the 84 lakh yonis (kinds of birth); human birth as the moksha-sōpāna (the step to moksha); teachings on impermanence; tattva-jñāna (knowledge of reality); and bhakti to Nārāyaṇa as the highest path to moksha.

Brahma Kāṇḍa (the section on moksha)

A fuller account is on Garuḍa Purāṇa’s Brahma Khaṇḍa.

This section takes the form of a dialogue between Śrī Kṛshṇa and Garuḍa.

• Philosophy: It refutes the ideas of upādhi (limiting adjuncts), māyā (illusion) and avidyā (ignorance) to establish true knowledge (nija jñāna). This section supports the Dvaita Siddhānta (dualism) taught by Madhvācārya.
• Sacred geography: It gives a full description of the Gayā Kshetra. It also describes Bhagavān Śrīnivāsa and the order of the hills and ponds where he dwells, which points clearly to the sanctity of the Seven Hills, though it does not use the words “Tirupati” or “Tirumala”.

The Brahma Khaṇḍa is the last major part of the Garuḍa Purāṇa, in 30 chapters. Its outer frame: Śaunaka Maharshi and sixty thousand ṛshis at Naimishāraṇya go to the Siddha-āśrama to approach Sūta Maharshi. Sūta tells the Brahma Khaṇḍa as he received it from Veda Vyāsa, who received it from Brahmā. The inner frame is Śrī Kṛshṇa speaking to Garuḍa.

The supremacy of Vishṇu and the three dearest Purāṇas (chapter 1)

Sūta Maharshi opens with the declaration:

nāsti nārāyaṇa samaṃ / na bhūtaṃ na bhavishyati

Meaning: There is none equal to Nārāyaṇa; there was none, and there will be none.

Of all the Purāṇas, three are most dear to Bhagavān Vishṇu: the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (first), the Vishṇu Purāṇa (second), and the Garuḍa Purāṇa (third, given by Bhagavān Vishṇu himself in the name of his greatest bhakta).

Yoga-nidrā and the mēlukolupu stutis (chapter 2)

Śrī Kṛshṇa explains to Garuḍa that during the pralaya Bhagavān Vishṇu alone remains, with Lakshmī, in the cosmic ocean, with all creation dissolved within him, for the length of one day of Brahmā (four billion three hundred and twenty million human years). Lakshmī serves him in the form of the bed, the dwelling and many other forms. At the end of the kalpa, all the devatās sing the mēlukolupu (the waking hymn), calling him by his names, Nārāyaṇa, Vāsudeva, Kṛshṇa, Acyuta, Mādhava, Govinda and Murāri, and Bhagavān Vishṇu wakes from yoga-nidrā (yogic sleep).

Creation (chapters 3–4, 10–13)

Śrī Kṛshṇa tells the whole order of prākṛta and vaikṛta sṛshṭi (primary and secondary creation). From the ahaṃ-tattva arise Ādiśesha, Garuḍa and Hara. He describes Lakshmī‘s threefold form (Śrī, Bhū and Durgā); the creation of the Trimūrti (Vishṇu as sattva, Brahmā as rajas, Śiva as tamas); the ten indriyas (senses); the eleven abhimāna-devatās (presiding devatās); the ten Rudras from Mūla-Rudra; the twelve Ādityas; and the forty-nine Marudgaṇas. Then come the Brahmāṇḍa (the cosmic egg) with its seven āvaraṇas (coverings), the Virajā river, and Brahmā’s tapas of a thousand years, followed by his stuti to Nārāyaṇa and Bhagavān Vishṇu’s command to go on with the vaikṛta sṛshṭi.

Thirty stotras (chapters 5–9)

All the beings created by Bhagavān Vishṇu and through Brahmā offer stutis (praises) to Nārāyaṇa: Lakshmī, Brahmā, Vāyu, Sarasvatī, Ādiśesha, Rudra, Indra, Śacī, Rati, Daksha, Bṛhaspati, Aniruddha, Svāyambhuva Manu, Varuṇa, Nārada, Bhṛgu, Agni, Prasūti, Vasishṭha, Marīci, Atri, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Viśvāmitra, Mitra, Tārā, Nirṛti and Vishvaksena. Each stuti speaks of the singer’s smallness before the endless greatness (mahimā) of Bhagavān Vishṇu and asks for a particular bhakti or for moksha.

Nārāyaṇa pūrṇatā and naivedya sārāsāra (chapter 14)

A teaching that Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa is the enjoyer (bhoktā) of the sāra-aṃśa (essential part) of all substances, with detailed guidance on when foods, flowers and ritual items keep their sāra for naivedya (food offered to the mūrti). It declares that a face that does not speak the name of Hari, and food not offered to Hari, are both nirnikara. Only tulasī always keeps its sāra.

Avatāras of Hari (chapters 15–17)

A long account of the avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu: Sanatkumāra; the Vāsudeva-vyūha (with Saṅkarshaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha); Varāha; Nārāyaṇa (at Badarī); Kapila; Dattātreya; Alarkarāja (taught ānvīkshikī, the science of reasoning); Yajña (son of Ākūti); Ṛshabha (son of Merudevī and Nābhi); Kūrma; Dhanvantari; Mohinī; Narasiṃha; Vāmana; Paraśurāma; Rāma (with a full discussion of the lasting fame of the Rāma-carita); Vyāsa; Kṛshṇa; “Ṛddha” in Kīkaṭa deśa; and Kalkī. The corresponding avatāras of Lakshmī in each are also given.

Ādiśesha and the avatāras of Rudra (chapter 18)

The origin of Ādiśesha and his avatāras as Lakshmaṇa (in Rāma’s time) and Balarāma (in Kṛshṇa‘s time). The two aspects of Śiva (Sadāśiva and Raudra); his tapas of atonement (prāyaścitta) for ten years in the salt ocean; and his avatāras: Tāpasa, Śuka Maharshi, Aśvatthāmā, Vāmadeva, Aghora, Sadyojāta, Aurva, Īśāna and Durvāsa.

The six wives of Kṛshṇa (chapters 19–29)

Śrī Kṛshṇa tells Garuḍa the past-life (pūrvajanma) accounts of six of his wives. Each was born for a purpose (kāraṇa-janma) and reached him through intense bhakti over many births:

• Nīlā (Nāgnajitī) (chapter 19): in her past life the daughter of Kavyavāhana (one of the agni-pitṛs); tapas at Pāpanāśana near Śeshācala; the vara of Śrīnivāsa; reborn as Nīlā; the svayaṃvara with the seven bulls of Bhagavān Śiva.
• Bhadrā (chapter 20): the daughter of the householder Nala; she taught her father that the name of Hari is supreme; reborn as the daughter of Kṛshṇa’s mēnatta (father’s sister).
• Mitravindā (chapter 20): in her past life she held that hearing the Bhāgavata-kathā is the highest sādhana (spiritual practice); reborn as the daughter of Sumitrā.
• Kāḷindī (chapter 21): the daughter of Sūrya (Vivasvant); tapas on the banks of the Yamunā; a teaching on tapas as pāpānoutāpa; Kṛshṇa met her while with Arjuna.
• Lakshaṇā (chapter 22): in her past life the daughter of Agni; a teaching on dāna given with the thought of Bhagavān Vishṇu; the svayaṃvara of the fish target (matsya-yantra); reborn as the daughter of the king of Madra.
• Jāmbavatī (chapters 23–29): in her past life the daughter of Soma; a tīrtha-yātrā with Jaigīshavya Maharshi; Nṛsiṃha Tīrtha (the account of Prahlāda‘s darśana); initiation into the Veṅkaṭeśa mantra by Śrīnivāsa; tapas at Ṛshi Tīrtha; reborn as the daughter of Jāmbavān.

The closing teaching (chapter 29):

Hariṃ hariṃ pravadetsarvadaiva

Meaning: Always speak the name of Hari.

Acts done while remembering Vāsudeva Hari win the prasannatā (grace) of Nārāyaṇa. One should always have prīti (love) for the dharmas that are dear to Bhagavān Hari.

Garuḍa Purāṇa Māhātmya (chapter 30)

The last chapter gives the full māhātmya (glory) of the Garuḍa Purāṇa. Bhagavān Vishṇu declared: “Among letters I am akāra; among birds I am Garuḍa; among Purāṇas I am the Garuḍa Purāṇa.” Brahmā received this Purāṇa from Bhagavān Vishṇu and told it to Daksha, Nārada and Vyāsa; Vyāsa taught it to Sūta; and Sūta to Śaunaka and the assembled ṛshis at Naimishāraṇya. The fruits of reading (pāṭha), hearing (śravaṇa), copying (lekhana) and honouring (pūjā) this Purāṇa include vidyā (learning), yaśas (fame), beauty, Lakshmī (prosperity), vijaya (victory), ārogya (health), the removal of the pāpa of brahmahatyā (killing a brāhmaṇa), and in the end moksha. The Purāṇa is called a kalpa-vṛksha (wish-fulfilling tree).

Phala Śruti (the fruits of recitation)

Reading and hearing the Garuḍa Purāṇa is held to be a path to complete knowledge. Since it is built as a vijñāna sarvasva (encyclopaedia), the listener gains learning in many fields, from health (Āyurveda) to administration and ethics.

• Spiritual puṇya: The text stresses śravaṇa (hearing), kīrtana (singing) and smaraṇa (remembering) as the means to bhakti, which shows the strong influence of the Bhāgavata Dharma.
• Philosophical realisation: Through this text one understands the great Vedic sayings (mahāvākyas) such as Tat tvam asi, Aham Brahmāsmi and Prajñānaṃ Brahma, which the Purāṇa explains.

Distinctive features

• Philosophy: The Brahma Kāṇḍa clearly strengthens the Dvaita Siddhānta of Madhvācārya.
• Pūjā of many devatās: The Garuḍa Purāṇa gives much space to the pūjā of Sūrya and Śiva. It describes the pūjā of the Saptamātṛkas and of other devatās in detail.
• Its own accounts: It holds accounts told by the pretas themselves, among them the account of a Buddhist ascetic who became a preta.
• Geography without names: It describes the hills and tanks of Bhagavān Śrīnivāsa without naming Tirumala. The Varāha and Bhavishyottara Purāṇas name the kshetra directly.

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Sources

• Garuḍa Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, chapters 1–125
• Garuḍa Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, chapters 126–240
• Garuḍa Purāṇa, Dharma Khaṇḍa (Preta Kalpam), chapters 1–49
• Garuḍa Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa (also called the Moksha Khaṇḍa), chapters 1–30
• Matsya Purāṇa (the verse on the Garuḍa Purāṇa)
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 272
• Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapters 7, 13