Shloka 7
Account of the Ripening of Karma
Childlessness, Offspring, and Remedial Dharma
पूर्वजन्मनि यो मर्त्यो वर्तनं ब्राह्मणस्य च । हरेद्वा हारयेदत्र पुत्रहीनो भवेत्किल
pūrvajanmani yo martyo vartanaṃ brāhmaṇasya ca | haredvā hārayedatra putrahīno bhavetkila
যি মর্ত্যই পূৰ্বজন্মত ব্ৰাহ্মণৰ জীৱিকা চুৰ কৰে বা চুৰ কৰোৱায়, সি নিশ্চয় এই জন্মত পুত্ৰহীন হয়।
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within Brahma-khaṇḍa context)
Concept: Harming a brāhmaṇa’s livelihood (by theft or instigation) yields karmic retribution manifesting as putra-hāni (loss of progeny).
Application: Avoid exploiting others’ income, especially those engaged in teaching, worship, and service; practice fair wages, honest trade, and restitution when harm is done.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A stark moral tableau: a shadowy figure stealthily removes grain and coins from a humble brāhmaṇa’s store, while in the background a dim karmic vision shows an empty cradle and a grieving household. Above, an unseen cosmic balance—like a subtle scale of dharma—tilts, suggesting inevitable consequence.","primary_figures":["brāhmaṇa householder","thief/instigator (symbolic)","personified Dharma (optional, subtle)"],"setting":"A simple village courtyard with a granary, sacred fire corner, and a palm-leaf manuscript shelf—signs of a brāhmaṇa’s livelihood.","lighting_mood":"moonlit","color_palette":["ash gray","midnight blue","muted ochre","copper brown","pale ivory"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: Moral allegory panel—brāhmaṇa seated near a small agnihotra fire, while a dark-clad figure steals from a grain pot; above, a gold-leaf dharma-scale motif and a faint haloed Dharma figure; rich reds and greens contrasted with deep blues, ornate borders, symbolic clarity, gold highlights emphasizing karmic inevitability.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: Night scene with delicate shading; brāhmaṇa’s modest home, thief in profile; in a cloud vignette, an empty cradle and sorrowful couple; refined facial expressions, cool blues and soft ochres, narrative split-scene typical of miniatures.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: Bold outlines and symbolic composition—brāhmaṇa with sacred thread and calm face, thief rendered in darker tones; a stylized empty cradle icon behind; flat color fields of red/yellow/green with indigo night band, didactic temple-wall storytelling.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: Symbolic dharma composition with ornate border; central brāhmaṇa and granary, side vignette of empty cradle; lotus and vine motifs subdued; deep blue ground with gold accents, patterned textiles, moral narrative rendered as devotional warning."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple drum","distant owl call","soft bell at cadence","brief silence after the karmaphala line"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: मर्त्यो→मर्त्यः (visarga before consonant); हरेद्वा→हरेत्+वा; भवेत्किल→भवेत्+किल.
FAQs
It condemns taking away a Brāhmaṇa’s means of subsistence—whether directly or indirectly—and frames it as a grave wrongdoing with serious karmic consequences.
It extends moral responsibility to both direct perpetrators and those who instigate, enable, or commission the act, treating indirect harm as ethically and karmically consequential.
Within Purāṇic karmaphala logic, it is presented as a concrete life-outcome (phala) corresponding to prior wrongdoing—serving as a deterrent and a moral warning, not as a universal rule for every circumstance.