Shloka 30
Supremacy of Hari-Bhakti in Kali-yuga; Warnings on Sensual Attachment; Praise of Brāhmaṇas, Purāṇa-Listening, and Gaṅgā
तत्रैव रमते लोकः कस्तस्मादशुचिर्भवेत् । तत्रातिकष्टं लोकेस्मिन्नहो दैवविडंबना
tatraiva ramate lokaḥ kastasmādaśucirbhavet | tatrātikaṣṭaṃ lokesminnaho daivaviḍaṃbanā
وفي ذلك بعينه يلتذّ الناس؛ فمن ذا الذي يصير نجسًا بسببه؟ ومع ذلك، في هذا العالم يجلب مشقّةً بالغة؛ آهٍ، ما أعجب سخريةَ القدر!
Unspecified (context-dependent within Svarga-khaṇḍa dialogue)
Concept: What people delight in can still become a cause of great suffering; discernment is needed to see the hidden cost of indulgence.
Application: Pause before repeating a pleasure-habit; ask whether it later produces hardship (health, relationships, clarity), and redirect toward sattvic routines and devotion.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A human crowd in a bustling pleasure-market reaches for glittering objects that subtly transform into chains and thorns. Above them, an unseen wheel of fate turns, casting alternating bands of light and shadow, while a lone contemplative figure stands aside, watching with sorrowful clarity.","primary_figures":["worldly men and women (symbolic)","a contemplative sage-like observer (symbolic)","personified Daiva/Kāla as a shadowy wheel (allegorical)"],"setting":"A symbolic city-street that blends into a dreamlike court of Svarga—arches, banners, and mirage-like palaces fading into smoke.","lighting_mood":"chiaroscuro with ominous divine overcast","color_palette":["smoky indigo","tarnished gold","ash gray","deep maroon","pale sandalwood"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: an allegorical Svarga-court backdrop with ornate arches; a large gilded wheel of Daiva above, gold leaf haloing the wheel; below, richly dressed figures grasping jewel-like pleasures that morph into thorny vines; a calm ascetic at the edge with minimal ornamentation; heavy gold leaf embellishment, ruby-green textiles, gem-studded borders, traditional South Indian iconographic symmetry.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: a lyrical city-scene with delicate linework; figures in elegant garments reaching toward sparkling objects; the objects subtly become dark vines; a solitary wise figure under a tree at the margin; cool dusk sky, layered hills in the distance, refined faces, restrained ornament, poetic melancholy.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines and flat natural pigments; a large circular Kāla/Daiva wheel overhead; below, clustered figures in stylized poses of grasping; a serene contemplative figure with simplified ornaments; temple-wall aesthetic with red-yellow-green dominance and rhythmic composition.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: ornate border of lotus and thorn motifs; central allegory of worldly delight turning to hardship; peacocks perched on arches watching; deep blue ground with gold detailing; intricate floral filigree framing the moral tableau, Nathdwara-inspired decorative density."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple bell","distant conch","soft drone (tanpura)","murmur of crowd fading into silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: तत्रैव = तत्र + एव; कस्तस्मात् = कः + तस्मात्; अशुचिर्भवेत् = अशुचिः + भवेत्; तत्रातिकष्टं = तत्र + अतिकष्टम्; लोकेस्मिन् = लोके + अस्मिन्; दैवविडंबना = दैव-विडंबना (समास)
FAQs
It contrasts human attachment—people enjoying something without feeling moral taint—with the real-world suffering it can cause, calling it an irony of fate (daiva-viḍambanā).
It suggests that when a practice becomes normalized and enjoyed by society, individuals rarely consider themselves “impure” because of it—even if it has harmful consequences.
Social acceptance is not the same as righteousness; one should evaluate actions by their consequences and dharmic standards, not merely by what people commonly enjoy.