Shloka 24
The Tale of the Five Pretas and the Glory of Puṣkara & the Eastern Sarasvatī
सूचिता बहवोऽनेन विप्राश्चान्नाद्यकांक्षिणः । एतत्कारणमुद्दिश्य सूचीमुखाभिधो मतः
sūcitā bahavo'nena viprāścānnādyakāṃkṣiṇaḥ | etatkāraṇamuddiśya sūcīmukhābhidho mataḥ
وبهذا الفعل أُشير إلى كثير من البرهمنة الراغبين في الطعام والزاد وكُشفوا للناس. ولهذا السبب عُدَّ معروفًا باسم “سوتشيموخا”؛ أي: ذو الوجه—أو الفم—كالإبرة.
Unspecified (narrative voice within Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa context)
Concept: Misuse of one’s agency around food, begging, and hospitality leads to moral exposure and a degrading identity; dharma protects both giver and receiver when aligned with compassion and restraint.
Application: Treat requests for help with discernment and kindness; avoid exploiting others’ hunger; cultivate honest livelihood and generosity without humiliation.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A tense village threshold scene: hungry brāhmaṇas stand with begging bowls while a furtive figure points them out with a sharp, needle-like gesture, his face subtly elongated as if becoming ‘needle-mouthed.’ The air feels morally charged—charity and hunger are present, yet compassion is replaced by exposure and ridicule.","primary_figures":["hungry brāhmaṇas","a furtive householder/figure becoming Sūcīmukha"],"setting":"mud-plastered homes at the edge of a settlement; a small courtyard with grain baskets, a low doorway, and a dusty path where alms are sought","lighting_mood":"forest dappled","color_palette":["dusty ochre","ash gray","indigo shadow","brass-gold","pale cotton white"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a moral-etiology tableau at a village doorway—hungry brāhmaṇas with kamaṇḍalu and pātra, a guilty figure with a subtly needle-like mouth pointing them out; gold leaf highlights on vessels and sacred threads, rich maroon and emerald borders, gem-studded ornaments on the brāhmaṇas’ minimal jewelry, traditional South Indian iconographic faces with expressive eyes conveying shame and hunger.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: delicate brushwork showing a small hamlet courtyard, thin hungry brāhmaṇas in white with soft pink shawls, a sly figure gesturing with a needle-like profile; cool shadows, lyrical naturalism, refined facial features, distant trees and low hills, fine linework for sacred threads and begging bowls.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines and flat natural pigments—brāhmaṇas with pronounced eyes and sacred threads, the culprit with an exaggerated narrow mouth; temple-wall aesthetic even in a domestic scene, red-yellow-green palette with rhythmic decorative borders and stylized foliage.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: symbolic moral scene framed by lotus and vine borders—brāhmaṇas as devotional recipients of anna, the ‘needle-mouthed’ figure rendered as a cautionary character; intricate floral motifs, deep indigo ground with gold detailing, small peacocks at the border to heighten the didactic, devotional atmosphere."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Desh","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["soft temple bells","distant village ambience","begging bowl clink","brief silence between pādas"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: bahavo'nena → bahavaḥ anena; viprāścānnādya- → viprāḥ ca annādya-; etatkāraṇamuddiśya → etat kāraṇam uddiśya; sūcīmukhābhidho → sūcīmukha-abhidhaḥ.
FAQs
The verse gives an etymological explanation: because he “pointed out/indicated” (sūcita) many Brahmins seeking food, he is regarded as bearing the name Sūcīmukha—one whose ‘mouth/face’ is like a ‘needle,’ i.e., one who indicates or points.
It highlights concern with providing food/support (annādya) to Brahmins and frames a person’s epithet as arising from a defining action connected to directing or arranging such provision.
Not directly. It is primarily an explanatory/etymological line in the Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa narrative, focused on naming and the act of indicating those in need of food.