Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 13
The Tale of Sukalā: Illusion, Desire, and the Testing of a Chaste Wife
within the Vena Cycle
समासेन समाख्यातं पूर्ववृत्तांतमात्मनः । यथा भर्ता गतो यात्रां पुण्यसाधनतत्परः
samāsena samākhyātaṃ pūrvavṛttāṃtamātmanaḥ | yathā bhartā gato yātrāṃ puṇyasādhanatatparaḥ
সংক্ষেপে মই মোৰ অতীতৰ পূৰ্ববৃত্তান্ত ক’লোঁ—যেনেকৈ মোৰ স্বামী পুণ্যসাধনত মনোনিবেশ কৰি তীৰ্থযাত্ৰালৈ ওলাই গ’ল।
Unspecified (a female narrator speaking in first person, recounting her husband’s pilgrimage)
Concept: Pilgrimage, when pursued with intent for dharma and puṇya, becomes a purifying discipline rather than mere travel.
Application: Undertake visits to sacred places (or local temples) with a vow of ethical conduct, charity, and remembrance of Hari; keep intention (saṅkalpa) clear.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: tirtha
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A devoted wife narrates her past while, in the background, her husband departs at dawn for a sacred pilgrimage, carrying a staff and water-pot. The road ahead is lined with distant temple spires and flowering trees, suggesting a life turned toward merit and purification.","primary_figures":["devoted wife narrator","pilgrim husband","distant temple priests (optional)"],"setting":"village threshold opening onto a pilgrimage road leading toward a sacred landscape","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["saffron ochre","lotus pink","sandalwood beige","deep indigo","gold leaf"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a South Indian devotional tableau of a pilgrim husband stepping out at sunrise while his wife narrates from the doorway; ornate arch framing, gold leaf halo-like radiance around the distant temple gopuram, rich reds and greens, gem-studded ornaments on the figures, stylized clouds and lotus borders.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: lyrical dawn departure scene with delicate linework; the wife seated near a veranda, the husband on a winding path toward blue-green hills and a tiny shrine; cool pastel sky, refined faces, flowering trees and birds, gentle narrative intimacy.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlined figures at a household threshold; the pilgrim with kamaṇḍalu and staff, the wife in calm narration; warm red/yellow/green pigments, temple-lamp ambience, stylized foliage and sacred symbols subtly indicating yātrā.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: pilgrimage-road framed by lotus and creeper borders; a distant Vishnu temple as the focal sanctum; peacocks and cows along the path, deep blues and gold, intricate floral motifs suggesting puṇya and auspicious departure."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["soft temple bells","morning birds","footsteps on a dirt path","conch shell in the distance"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: पूर्ववृत्तांतमात्मनः → पूर्ववृत्तान्तम् + आत्मनः; पुण्यसाधनतत्परः = पुण्य+साधन+तत्पर (समास).
FAQs
It highlights tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) undertaken with the explicit intention of puṇya-sādhana—performing acts that generate religious merit.
It indicates focused devotion to meritorious conduct—treating the journey not as travel, but as a disciplined religious undertaking aimed at spiritual benefit.
It signals a transition or summary: the speaker is compressing prior events to move the narrative forward to the main episode that follows.