Garudapurana 2.13

The glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa — 13
Garuḍa said:
By what action, O Lord of gods, does the state of being a ghost not arise at all
for all creatures on earth? Tell me that, O Supreme Lord.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa said:
Now I shall explain in brief the funeral rites on the anniversary of death,
which should be performed with one's own hand by mortals desiring liberation.

For women as well, and especially for a child older than five years,
the ritual of bull-release and the rest [must be done] to remove ghosthood;
there is nothing else on the surface of the earth other than the release of a bull.

Whether living or deceased, whoever performs the release of a bull
will not attain ghosthood, even without gifts, sacrifices, and religious observances.

Garuḍa said:
At what time should one perform the release of a bull, whether alive or dead,
O best of the foremost gods? Tell me, O Madhusūdana.

What fruit, indeed, comes at the end through the sixteen śrāddhas performed?

Śrī Kṛṣṇa said:
If one offers funeral cakes without performing the release of a bull,
that welfare does not reach [the deceased]; for the giver and for the ghost it is fruitless.

For whatever deceased person a bull is not released on the eleventh day,
his ghosthood remains firmly fixed, even if a hundred śrāddhas are offered.

Garuḍa said:
For those whose death is caused by a serpent, there is no cremation rite and the like;
or if one dies by water, by a horned beast, or by weapons and the like—

how does purification take place for those who have died a bad death, O Lord?
You ought to completely dispel this doubt of mine, O Lord.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa said:
A brāhmaṇa becomes purified in six months, an arm-born [kṣatriya] in two and a half,
a vaiśya in a month and a half, and a śūdra is purified in a month.

Having given gifts of all kinds, if one dies at an auspicious sacred ford,
having become pure as a celibate student, he does not go to a bad state here.

Having performed the release of a bull and the like, one should practice the duty of an ascetic;
if he meets death in the state of asceticism, he goes to the eternal Brahman.

Even one who commits improper acts, devoid of the conduct of the virtuous,
does not go to the punishment of Yama once he has performed the release of a bull and the like.

A son, or a uterine brother, or a grandson, or a kinsman,
as well as agnates and heirs to property, should perform the festival of the bull upon one's death.

In the absence of a son, it may be the wife, a daughter's son, or even a daughter;
while sons are existing, one should not cause the bull [rite] to be performed by anyone else.

Garuḍa said:
For men and women who have no sons, O Lord of gods—
you ought to completely dispel this doubt of mine, O Lord.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa said:
There is no good destination for a sonless person; heaven is never, ever [attained].
Therefore, by whatever means, one should bring about the birth of a son.

Whatever gifts are given by mortals with their own hands,
every single one of them stands before them [hereafter].

Various cooked condiments, whatever foods to chew and eat,
when given with one's own hand, yield imperishable fruit at the end of the body.

Cows, land, gold, garments, and portions of food—
wherever a creature dwells, there it reaches him.

Indeed, as long as the body is healthy, so long should one practice dharma;
one who is unwell and prompted by others is capable of doing nothing at all.

If the funeral rites are not performed while alive or upon death in this world,
he becomes a spirit of wind, overcome by hunger, and wanders day and night.

He is born as a worm, an insect, or a moth, and dies again;
he is also [conceived] in an evil womb, and as soon as he is born, he perishes.

As long as this body is healthy and free from disease, as long as old age is far off,
as long as the power of the senses is unimpaired, and as long as there is no exhaustion of lifespan—
just so long should a great effort be made by a wise man for the welfare of his soul;
what kind of attempt is it to dig a well when the house is already ablaze?

Thus ends the thirteenth chapter, named 'Praise of the Release of a Bull, the Duty of Giving, Sons, and the Like', in the dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Garuḍa, in the Pretakalpa of the Dharmakāṇḍa, in the second part of the Latter Section of the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa.