Shloka 191
Right Conduct, Offenses Against Brāhmaṇas, Truthfulness, and the Greatness of the Cow
Go-Māhātmya
गवां च हरणं कृत्वा मृते गोरथवत्सके । क्रिमिपूर्णे स कूपे च तिष्ठेदाभूतसंप्लवं
gavāṃ ca haraṇaṃ kṛtvā mṛte gorathavatsake | krimipūrṇe sa kūpe ca tiṣṭhedābhūtasaṃplavaṃ
Wer Kühe stiehlt, muss, wenn Kuh, Wagen und Kalb zugrunde gegangen sind, in einem von Würmern erfüllten Brunnen verweilen bis zur kosmischen Auflösung der Wesen.
Unspecified (narratorial/legal-penal prescription within the Adhyaya)
Concept: Cow-theft is a grievous adharma with long-duration consequences; karmic law is inexorable and proportionate.
Application: Avoid exploitation and theft; cultivate integrity in livelihood; repair harm through restitution and protective service to vulnerable beings.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A dark, narrow well yawns open, its stone walls slick and crawling with worms; the condemned figure clings to the damp sides, trapped in suffocating gloom. Above the rim, a distant pastoral scene of cows and sunlight is visible like a lost world, heightening the moral contrast.","primary_figures":["cow-thief (condemned soul)","yamadūtas (optional, shadowy)"],"setting":"A subterranean, worm-infested well with oppressive stone textures; faint glimpse of surface pasture far above.","lighting_mood":"moonlit","color_palette":["charcoal black","moss green","mud brown","sickly yellow","ashen gray"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: dramatic moral tableau with a dark well rendered in stylized architecture, gold-leaf used sparingly as a harsh rim highlight, yamadūtas with ornate but fearsome crowns, the upper border showing a bright cow-pasture vignette as contrast, rich reds muted into maroons.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: claustrophobic vertical composition of a deep well, delicate but unsettling detailing of worms and damp stones, cool gray-blue shadows, a tiny bright pastoral strip at the top with cows, refined linework emphasizing moral distance.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines and intense contrast, the well as a dark cylindrical frame, the condemned figure stylized with expressive eyes, yamadūtas in red-black tones, minimal background, temple-wall austerity.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical composition—central dark well encircled by a border of withered lotus motifs, upper register showing cows amid blooming lotuses, deep indigo ground with stark ochre highlights, moral didacticism in devotional textile idiom."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low thunder rumble","echoing drops of water","chains clinking","ominous silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: गोरथवत्सके = गो-रथ-वत्सके (समास); तिष्ठेदाभूतसंप्लवं = तिष्ठेत् + आ-भूत-संप्लवम् (त् + आ → दा in sandhi: तिष्ठेत् + आ → तिष्ठेद् आ...).
FAQs
It warns that stealing cows (a grave dharmic offense) leads to severe, long-lasting suffering, expressed here as confinement in a worm-infested well until cosmic dissolution.
Cows are linked with sustenance, sacrifice, and social-religious welfare; harming or stealing them is portrayed as disrupting dharma and communal stability, thus attracting heavy karmic consequences.
It indicates an extremely long duration—until the dissolution of beings/elements—used as a hyperbolic Purāṇic measure to stress the gravity of the offense.