Padma Purana — Srishti Khanda, Shloka 111
The Bhīma-Dvādaśī
Kalyāṇinī) Vow and the Anangadāna-Vrata (with a Courtesan-Conduct Discourse
कामाय पादौ संपूज्य जंघे वै मोहकारिणे । मेढ्रं कंदर्पनिधये कटिं प्रीतिमते नमः
kāmāya pādau saṃpūjya jaṃghe vai mohakāriṇe | meḍhraṃ kaṃdarpanidhaye kaṭiṃ prītimate namaḥ
بعد أن تُعبَد القدمان على وجه اللائق لأجل الرغبة، (تُعبَد) الساقان اللتان تُحدِثان الفتنة؛ والسجودُ لعضو التناسل، مستودع الشهوة، وللخصر، موضع اللذة.
Unspecified (verse appears within a ritual/nyāsa-style praise sequence in the Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa narrative context)
Concept: Embodied worship assigns mantric/intentional honors to body parts associated with desire and delusion, aiming to ritually acknowledge and thereby regulate kāma rather than deny its presence.
Application: Treat desire as energy to be governed: cultivate modesty, ethical boundaries, and devotional redirection; if practicing any body-mapping meditation, do so with purity, consent, and guidance, keeping the aim as self-mastery and devotion—not indulgence.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: shringara
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A symbolic, non-explicit depiction of the human form as a luminous silhouette marked with lotus seals at key points (feet, shanks, waist), while darker misty bands labeled ‘moha’ and ‘kandarpanidhi’ dissolve into light. A small Vishnu emblem (shankha-chakra) hovers above the heart, indicating the consecration of bodily impulses into disciplined devotion rather than sensual display.","primary_figures":["symbolic human silhouette (gender-neutral or modestly draped)","lotus-seal motifs","Vishnu emblem (shankha-chakra)","personifications of Moha and Kāma as abstract shadows (non-figurative)"],"setting":"abstract ritual space with mandala floor, lotus geometry, and mantra-like calligraphy bands","lighting_mood":"divine radiance","color_palette":["smoky violet","soft gold","ash gray","lotus white","deep teal"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: highly symbolic composition—central draped silhouette with lotus medallions at feet, shanks, waist; gold leaf mandala background; shankha-chakra emblem above; no explicit anatomy, only iconographic seals and Sanskrit calligraphy; rich reds and greens with gold highlights.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: refined allegorical scene—slender draped figure in a quiet pavilion, lotus stamps and subtle inscriptions indicating body points; moha shown as faint gray wash dissipating; cool palette, delicate brushwork, contemplative mood.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: stylized draped figure with bold outlines; lotus symbols at designated points; abstract shadow forms for moha/kāma at the margins; central Vishnu emblem above; traditional mural palette with strong compositional symmetry.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: devotional-symbolic textile with lotus borders; central mandala and draped silhouette; shankha-chakra medallion at top; floral arrow motifs rendered as lotuses; deep indigo cloth ground with gold and white detailing, entirely non-explicit."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple drum (mridang)","tanpura drone","incense crackle","single bell strikes","deep silence between phrases"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सम्पूज्य is kṛdanta (क्त्वा) functioning adverbially; मोहकारिणे = मोह-कारिणे (compound); कंदर्पनिधये = कन्दर्प-निधये.
FAQs
The diction resembles a nyāsa/stotra-like sequence that assigns devotional attention to body-parts with specific powers (desire, delusion, pleasure). It reads more like ritualized praise/identification than a stand-alone ethical maxim.
Purāṇic and tantric-adjacent hymn styles often map psychological forces onto the body to show how desire and infatuation arise through embodied experience; the verse uses that mapping as a liturgical or symbolic framework.
In context, such verses typically aim to acknowledge powerful human drives (kāma, moha, prīti) and place them within a controlled, ritualized, or devotional structure—suggesting mastery and sacralization of impulses rather than uncontrolled indulgence.