Garuda Mahā Purana - Preta Khaṇḍa
43 - On performing a Shraddha
The lord said:
1. Those who violate rules for the observance of rites in water and fire, those who break vows of renunciation and fast should make gifts of cow or bull for the purity of sense-organs.
2. Either the mother or a kinsman can perform the expiatory rite on behalf of a boy less than twelve but above four.
3. Boys of less than four years in age can never be guilty or sinful. Even the king cannot punish them. There is no expiatory rite prescribed for such boys, in the shastras.
4. If a woman falls sick after the menstrual blood has come out let her discard her cloth on the fourth day and touch the havis. She becomes pure thereby.
5. Sometimes, a person is ill and the necessity arises for an ablution. In the circumstances, a healthy man should take ablution ten times. He should touch the sick man aster every bath. Thereby, the sickman is purified even without ablution.
Summary of chapter 43 of the Garuda Mahā Purana - Preta Khaṇḍa is as follows:
Bhagavān Vishṇu summarizes the contrasting ultimate destinations that await human beings based on their moral choices and spiritual focus during earthly existence. The Lord contrasts the radiant, joyful realms of light and peace reserved for the righteous with the dark, purificatory conditions experienced by those who indulge in unrighteousness and harm others. This profound summary serves as a powerful reminder of personal moral responsibility, encouraging every human soul to choose the path of virtue, selflessness, and divine devotion while blessed with human life.