Shloka 52
Umā’s Austerity, Kauśikī’s Manifestation, and Skanda’s Birth Leading to Tāraka’s Defeat
ब्रह्माणमाह दैत्यस्तु निर्मृत्युत्वमहं वृणे । ब्रह्मोवाच । जातानामिह संसारे विना मृत्युं न युज्यते
brahmāṇamāha daityastu nirmṛtyutvamahaṃ vṛṇe | brahmovāca | jātānāmiha saṃsāre vinā mṛtyuṃ na yujyate
Da sprach der Daitya zu Brahmā: „Ich wähle Unsterblichkeit.“ Brahmā erwiderte: „Für die in dieser Welt Geborenen ist ein Dasein ohne Tod nicht möglich.“
Daitya (requesting) and Brahmā (replying)
Concept: For embodied beings, death is intrinsic to birth; immortality cannot be granted as a worldly boon—true transcendence lies beyond embodiment.
Application: Accept impermanence; invest in practices that outlast the body—devotion, virtue, service, and remembrance of God.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A stark dialogue tableau: the daitya, eyes blazing with desire, asks for deathlessness, while Brahmā answers with calm, unyielding truth. Behind Brahmā, a symbolic wheel of time turns—lotus petals fading into skull-like shadows—showing that birth and death are woven into saṃsāra.","primary_figures":["Brahmā","Daitya petitioner (Āḍa/Daityasiṁha)"],"setting":"Tapas-ground transformed into a symbolic cosmic court with a time-wheel motif and lotus-throne","lighting_mood":"divine radiance","color_palette":["antique gold","midnight blue","ivory white","crimson","smoky violet"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: Brahmā seated on a gold-embossed lotus with radiant halo, right hand in teaching gesture; the daitya kneeling with intense expression; behind them a stylized kāla-cakra with lotus petals and subtle skull motifs, heavy gold leaf, rich reds and greens, jewel-like ornamentation.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate conversational scene with refined faces; Brahmā serene, the daitya fervent; a faint translucent time-wheel in the sky with petals drifting; cool blues and soft ivories, delicate linework and gentle shading.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: frontal Brahmā with bold outlines and iconic eyes, teaching mudrā; daitya in profile with dramatic gaze; background patterned with a circular time emblem and lotus motifs, red/yellow/green pigments, temple-wall symmetry.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: central lotus medallion with Brahmā, below a supplicant daitya; border of alternating lotus blossoms and time-wheel rosettes; deep blue cloth with gold highlights, intricate floral filigree, devotional decorative density."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"meditative","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"serene","sound_elements":["long silence after the refusal","soft drone (tanpura)","single bell strike","distant wind"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: ब्रह्माणम्+आह→ब्रह्माणमाह; दैत्यः+तु→दैत्यस्तु; निर्मृत्युत्वम्+अहम्→निर्मृत्युत्वमहं; ब्रह्मा+उवाच→ब्रह्मोवाच; जातानाम्+इह→जातानामिह; प्रायः ‘विना’ द्वितीयासह।
FAQs
Brahmā states a core saṃsāric law: anything that is born is subject to death; mortality is intrinsic to embodied existence in the world of transmigration.
Because birth implies change and decay within the created order; to be “born” is to enter a cycle governed by time, karma, and dissolution, where death is a necessary counterpart.
The verse cautions against seeking absolute power through boons and emphasizes accepting cosmic order (dharma): one should pursue liberation (mokṣa) rather than trying to override the conditions of saṃsāra.