Mahapurana #17 of 18 · rajasic · Vishnu
गरुड पुराण
Garuda Purana
Garuḍa Purāṇa
Verses: 19,000 · Best known for: Preta-khanda — read during 13-day post-death rites
Central theme
What happens after death — the soul’s journey, karma, the afterworlds, and shraddha rites
Summary
Narrated by Vishnu to Garuda. The Preta-kanda (chapters on the dead) is the most-recited Hindu text at funerals — describes the 13-day journey of the soul, the realms (lokas), the rules of pinda-dana, and the importance of dharma in life.
Notable stories + sections
- ●The soul’s 13-day post-death journey
- ●Yama’s court + the 28 hells
- ●Karma-phala doctrine
- ●Pretas + ancestral rites
Why read it
Recited at every Hindu shraddha — defines the Hindu vision of afterlife + the practice of ancestor reverence.
All 18 Mahapuranas
About Garuda Purana
The Garuda Purana is told by Vishnu to Garuda, the eagle who is his mount. Tradition counts it at about nineteen thousand verses and lists it among the rajasic Puranas with Vishnu as presiding deity. Its early sections cover worship and practical matters, while the later part, often called the Preta-khanda, deals with death and what follows it.
That later part is the reason the text is so widely known. It describes the journey of the soul after death, the realms of the afterlife, the court of Yama, the working of karma, and the rites for the departed, including pinda-dana. In many families it is read during the period of mourning, particularly through the thirteen days after a death, and it also guides rites honouring ancestors.
Because it speaks so directly of death, it is often approached with solemnity, and scholars note that its funerary section circulates as a separate reading in many households. Students of Hindu ritual and of ideas about the afterlife study it alongside the Katha Upanishad and the Puranic accounts of Yama.
Common questions
- Why is the Garuda Purana read after a death?
- Its Preta-khanda describes the soul's passage after death and the rites for the departed, so many families recite or hear it during the mourning period.
- Who narrates the Garuda Purana?
- Vishnu narrates it to Garuda, the eagle who carries him.
- Is the Garuda Purana only about death?
- No. It also has sections on worship, conduct and other practical subjects, though its funerary portion is the best known.
Ask a pandit about Garuda Purana
This is a subject to study rather than a ritual to book. Put the question to a verified pandit, or browse the pujas that draw on it.