Shloka 19
Vrata–Dāna Compendium at Puṣkara: Puṣpavāhana’s Account and the Ṣaṣṭhī-vrata Purification Rite
तन्मूल्यलाभाय पुरं समस्तं भ्रांतं त्वयाशेषमहस्तदासीत् । क्रेता न कश्चित्कमलेषु जातः क्लांतः परं क्षुत्परिपीडितश्च
tanmūlyalābhāya puraṃ samastaṃ bhrāṃtaṃ tvayāśeṣamahastadāsīt | kretā na kaścitkamaleṣu jātaḥ klāṃtaḥ paraṃ kṣutparipīḍitaśca
Um ihren Preis zu erlangen, durchstreiftest du den ganzen Tag die gesamte Stadt; doch fand sich kein Käufer für die Lotosblüten. Du wurdest völlig erschöpft und schwer vom Hunger gequält.
Unspecified (narrative voice within the Adhyaya; context needed to name the speaker precisely)
Concept: Not all effort yields immediate result; frustration can purify pride and redirect one toward wiser means or higher refuge.
Application: When plans fail despite hard work, avoid bitterness; reassess methods, keep integrity, and cultivate patience and prayerful steadiness.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: city
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Inside the bustling streets of Vaidisha, the hungry seller moves from stall to stall holding fading lotuses, but merchants turn away. As the sun sinks, the crowd thins; he slumps against a wall, lotuses drooping in his arms—beauty unsold, hunger unrelieved.","primary_figures":["Hungry lotus-seller","Indifferent merchants","Passing townsfolk"],"setting":"Ancient Indian marketplace with stone lanes, cloth awnings, weighing scales, and closing stalls","lighting_mood":"late-afternoon to dusk, weary and muted","color_palette":["dusty terracotta","faded lotus pink","indigo shadow","brass gold","smoke gray"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: market scene with ornate architectural frames, gold-leaf accents on brass scales and shop signs, central figure holding drooping lotuses, rich maroon borders, expressive posture conveying fatigue and karmic lesson.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: detailed bazaar with delicate figures, warm terracotta buildings, long shadows of dusk, the seller’s tired face rendered with subtle emotion, lotuses losing freshness as a visual metaphor for fleeting opportunity.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines of market stalls and figures, rhythmic composition of repeated merchant gestures of refusal, earthy reds and yellows, the protagonist seated in exhaustion with large sorrowful eyes.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: stylized bazaar framed by floral borders, lotus motifs intentionally wilting, deep blue dusk background with gold highlights on lamps, the central figure small and humbled amid patterned crowds."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Desh","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["market murmur fading","coin clinks (distant)","evening temple bell","footsteps","soft sigh-like pauses"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: तत्+मूल्यलाभाय→तन्मूल्यलाभाय; त्वया+अशेषम्→त्वयाशेषम्; अहः+तत्+आसीत्→महस्तदासीत् (अहः→अहस् before t); कश्चित्+कमलेषु→कश्चित्कमलेषु; क्षुत्+परिपीडितः+च→क्षुत्परिपीडितश्च
FAQs
It describes someone roaming all day through the city trying to sell lotuses, but finding no buyer and ending the day exhausted and hungry.
The verse highlights the frustration of fruitless effort and the reality of human hardship—often used in Purāṇic narrative to set up a later teaching on dharma, destiny, or right action.
Lotuses commonly symbolize purity, auspiciousness, and divine association; here they also function as a realistic object of trade, contrasting sacred symbolism with worldly struggle.