Shloka 52
The Tale of the Five Pretas and the Glory of Puṣkara & the Eastern Sarasvatī
सामान्यां दक्षिणां लब्ध्वा एक एव निगूहति । नास्तिकीभावनिरतः स वै प्रेतोभिजायते
sāmānyāṃ dakṣiṇāṃ labdhvā eka eva nigūhati | nāstikībhāvanirataḥ sa vai pretobhijāyate
مَن نال الدكشِنا المعتادة ثم أخفاها لنفسه وحده ولم يُشرك فيها أحدًا، وكان مُلازمًا لنزعة الإلحاد، فإنه حقًّا يُولد «بريتا»؛ روحًا قلقة.
Unspecified narrator (contextual speaker not provided in the input)
Concept: Concealing customary dakṣiṇā meant for a collective and cultivating nāstika-bhāva (atheistic disposition) results in preta-birth—greed and denial of sacred order reinforce tamas.
Application: Practice financial transparency; share rightful portions; treat earnings as stewardship; avoid cynicism that erodes reverence and responsibility.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"After a sacrifice, several priests sit together to divide dakṣiṇā, but one man hides coins beneath his cloth, eyes darting with fear. A faint smoky preta-shadow curls from the hidden pouch, while the sacred fire behind them dims as if offended by the breach of shared dharma.","primary_figures":["group of priests","one hoarding priest","symbolic preta-shadow"],"setting":"post-yajña pavilion with offerings, dakṣiṇā bundles, kusa mats, and a cooling fire altar","lighting_mood":"lamp-lit with fading fireglow","color_palette":["muted saffron","copper brown","smoke gray","olive green","dull silver"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: priests seated in a semicircle with gold-leaf ritual vessels, the hoarder at one edge concealing coins; rich maroon backdrop, ornate borders, gold leaf on the altar and dakṣiṇā bundles, expressive eyes showing guilt; a subtle preta-shadow in dark translucent tones.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: quiet interior scene with delicate textiles, subdued warm palette, fine facial expressions of suspicion and disappointment; the hidden coins rendered with tiny detail; a faint gray spirit-wisp rising from the cloth fold.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, flat colors, stylized priest figures, the concealed dakṣiṇā emphasized with bright yellow, and a dark green-gray preta-wisp; temple-wall framing with geometric borders.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: symbolic sharing-circle motif—priests arranged like petals around a central altar, one ‘petal’ darkened to show hoarding; intricate floral borders, deep blue ground with gold highlights, moral allegory embedded in decorative symmetry."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Desh","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["soft fire crackle","coin clink (subtle)","low bell","night insects","brief silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: pretobhijāyate = pretaḥ + abhijāyate (visarga sandhi: aḥ + a → o).
FAQs
It warns that greed—secretly keeping a received dakṣiṇā for oneself instead of acting with fairness or appropriate sharing—has negative karmic consequences.
“Preta” functions as a karmic consequence: a state of post-death unrest is presented as the result of unethical conduct combined with an irreverent/atheistic disposition.
Not directly; it is primarily a dharma-ethical injunction about right conduct and the karmic results of greed and faithlessness, within the Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa’s broader moral instruction.