[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Purāṇas](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana) › [Garuḍapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda) › [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt) › 1.69 # Garudapurana 1.69 English (machine translation) 1.69 - **Language:** English ## Contents - [1.69.44](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.44) — 1 part ### [1.69.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.1) Sūta said: / Originating from elephant kings, clouds, boars, conches, fish, serpents, and oysters, and born from bamboo: / such are the pearls renowned in the world, and among them, those born from oysters are indeed abundant. ### [1.69.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.2) And there alone does the basic qualification for the term ‘gem’ sometimes apply to a single \[type\]; / moreover, only those born from oysters can be perforated among them; the rest cannot be perforated, so declare those who know them. ### [1.69.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.3) Those produced from bamboo, serpent kings, and whales, that which is born from conches, and that which is born from boars: / generally they are devoid of radiance, yet they are commended because of their auspiciousness. ### [1.69.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.4) Of the eight origins of pearls that are proclaimed here by knowers of gem-evaluation, / that which is born from a conch, and that which arises from the frontal globe of a lord of elephants, is declared the lowest among them. ### [1.69.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.5) A conch-pearl is equal in colour to the hue of the curd in its womb, large, and the size of an āmalaka fruit; / that produced from the midst of an elephant’s frontal globe is yellowish in colour, devoid of luster. ### [1.69.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.6) Conches which are in the lineage of the supreme conch drunk by contact with the mouth of Śārṅgin, / and elephants of pure pedigree: these are declared the origins of pearls. ### [1.69.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.7) Among them arises a pearl that is round, yellowish in colour, devoid of luster. / From a fish, one arises equal in colour to the back of a pāṭhīna fish, perfectly round, light, and very small. ### [1.69.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.8) They are produced in the mouths of aquatic creatures, and those fish are dwellers in the middle of the ocean. / That which arises from the tusk of a boar is declared to have a colour equal to the shoot of his very tusk. ### [1.69.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.9) In some places, somehow, such an exceptional lord of boars is born on earth. / That which originates from the joints of bamboo is declared to have the splendour equal in colour to hailstones. ### [1.69.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.10) Those bamboos shoot forth in places fit for the enjoyment of celestial beings, not in ordinary places. / That born from serpents is round like that of a fish, extremely bright in colour and splendour by its form, ### [1.69.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.11) possessing a colour and luster equal to the edge of an exceedingly polished sword. / Having obtained these great-splendoured supreme gems, or a kingdom, or great prosperity hard to attain, ### [1.69.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.12) those who perform meritorious deeds become endowed with power by the pearl born from a serpent’s head. / Out of desire to ascertain \[its worth\], when that jewel-treasure is placed by knowers of rituals atop a mansion with great care, during an auspicious hour, ### [1.69.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.13) having performed an extensive rite of protection, / then with the deep rumblings of great drums, with the space between them flashing with streaks of lightning, ### [1.69.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.14) the sky is covered by fresh clouds hanging down, heavy with rain. / Neither serpents nor yātudhānas, nor diseases, nor the evils of misfortunes, ### [1.69.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.15) harm him in whose treasury the pearl arisen from a serpent’s head abides. / That which arises from clouds does not come to the earth; the gods take it away before it reaches the ground. ### [1.69.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.16) With its beam of light, its disk, perceivable in the sky like the sun, leaves no quarter of the sky uncovered, / eclipsing the entire brilliance arising from fire, moon, constellations, and stars; ### [1.69.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.17) just as it causes illumination by day, so also in nights immersed in deep darkness. / Endowed with waters lovely with the gleam of diverse gems, furnished with the four oceans as her ornaments, ### [1.69.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.18) the entire earth filled with gold would not be its equal value, such is my conviction. / Even a lowly man who obtains it at some time through the ripening of great merit, ### [1.69.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.19) enjoys the whole earth without a rival as long as it remains. / Not only does it bring good fortune to the king; its birth also occurs through the good fortune of the subjects. ### [1.69.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.20) Within a thousand yojanas around, it averts all adversities. / Like a garland of stars fallen from the sky, the row of teeth of that great demon, ### [1.69.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.21) pure in colour, fell into the waters of the lord of waters amidst variegated colours. / That seed of the eminent gem, possessing great virtues, having the luster of the beams of the full moon, ### [1.69.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.22) found its place in oyster-shells, which were originally of other origins. / In whatever region of the ocean that seed of the very lovely pearl-gem fell, / in that place, the water shed by rainclouds and residing in the oyster-shell attained the state of pearls. ### [1.69.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.23) The mines are eight: Siṃhala, Paraloka, Saurāṣṭra, Tāmraparṇī, Pāraśava, / Kauvera, Pāṇḍya, and Hāṭaka-Hemaka. ### [1.69.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.24) Born from pearl oysters, not exceedingly inferior in colour, \[pearls\] are produced / with \[various\] sizes, shapes, qualities, and lustres in Vardhana, Persia, Pātāla, other worlds, and Siṃhala. ### [1.69.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.25) The wise man should not consider particularities arising from their mines, but should examine their form and size; / nor is there any fixed rule regarding qualities and defects: all shapes occur everywhere. ### [1.69.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.26) For this pearl that has the lustre of an oyster-shell and is measured against another, / the price is five thousand rūpakas increased by three hundred \[5,300\]. ### [1.69.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.27) One that is less than that by half a māṣaka has its price reduced by two-fifths; / for one that weighs three māṣakas, two thousand is stated to be the maximum price. ### [1.69.28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.28) The price of one weighing two \[māṣakas\] and a half is one thousand increased by three hundred \[1,300\]; / and eight hundred is said to be the price of one whose measured weight is two māṣakas. ### [1.69.29](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.29) For one measured at a māṣaka and a half, \[the price\] is equal to thrice twenty hundreds \[3,000 / 320? / 60\]; / experts say two hundred is the highest price for one carrying six guñjās; / for one measured at one and a half \[guñjās / māṣas\], the price endowed with its qualities would be one hundred. ### [1.69.30](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.30) If a dharaṇa is not less than sixteen \[pearls\], they call that 'dārvikā'; / even from the hand of a fool, it obtains a price of a hundred increased by ten \[110\]. ### [1.69.31](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.31) If a dharaṇa is not less than twice ten \[twenty pearls\], experts call that 'bhavaka'; / it would obtain seventy-nine as its price, provided it is not devoid of rich qualities. ### [1.69.32](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.32) When a dharaṇa is completed by thirty, it is celebrated as a 'śikya'; / its highest price would definitely be forty. ### [1.69.33](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.33) If it is forty, it would obtain a price of thirty; / but if it is fifty, it is a 'soma', and its price is twenty. ### [1.69.34](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.34) Sixty would be a 'nikaraśīrṣa', and its price is fourteen; / eighty and ninety are celebrated as 'kūpī'; / their prices are eleven and nine respectively. ### [1.69.35](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.35) Then, taking that entire pot of food, thoroughly cooked with an addition of lime juice, / and rubbed with soft, thinned cakes of roots, one should quickly drill the pearl as desired. ### [1.69.36](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.36) Having placed \[the pearl\] inside a clay-smeared fish cavity, one should then cook it gently, and next in a cat's cavity; / then one should cook it in milk, \[then\] in nectar, and after cooking, with pure, glossy milk. ### [1.69.37](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.37) Then purified by rubbing with a spotless cloth, the pearl will possess vast excellent qualities and lustre. / Indeed, the compassionate Siddha Vyāḍi, of great power over worlds, declared this out of dedication to the welfare of the wise. ### [1.69.38](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.38) Silver resembling white glass, joined with a hundredth part of gold, / held within mercury—\[such is an artificial\] pearl, an ornament for the body. ### [1.69.39](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.39) Skilled people make them thus in the Siṃhala country, / whenever there is suspicion of an artificial pearl somewhere. ### [1.69.40](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.40) One should steep it for a night in warm, salted, oily water, / or rub it with unhusked rice while wrapped in a dry cloth. ### [1.69.41](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.41) That which does not become discoloured is to be known as genuine. / White, of proper size, smooth, heavy, clear, very pure, ### [1.69.42](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.42) radiant, and well-rounded—such a pearl is considered endowed with good qualities. ### [1.69.43](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.43) Of proper size, endowed with weight and lustre, white, well-rounded, with an even and fine perforation, / bringing delight even to a non-buyer—that pearl is declared to be endowed with good qualities. ### [1.69.44](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.44) When a pearl is thus endowed with all advantages of quality, / not a single defect or mass of misfortunes comes upon its possessor. ### [1.69.44.p1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69.44.p1) Thus ends the sixty-ninth chapter, entitled 'Examination of Pearls: Description of the Size and Other Features of Pearls', in the Section on Conduct, called the first part of the first section in the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa. ## Linked texts (1) - [Garuḍapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda.1.69.1) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda~en-mt.1.69) · Pramāṇa