Shloka 96
The Glory of Dhātrī (Āmalakī) and Tulasī: Ekādaśī Observance and Protection from Preta States
पितरो गुरवश्चैव प्रेतास्ते कर्मजा भृशम् । पतिं त्यक्त्वा च या नार्यो वसंति चेतरैर्जनैः
pitaro guravaścaiva pretāste karmajā bhṛśam | patiṃ tyaktvā ca yā nāryo vasaṃti cetarairjanaiḥ
Die Pitṛs, die Ahnenväter, und auch die Lehrer werden zu Pretas, ruhelosen Geistern, schmerzlich aus dem eigenen Karma geboren, im Falle jener Frauen, die den Gatten verlassen und mit anderen Männern zusammenleben.
Unknown (verse excerpt provided without surrounding dialogue context)
Concept: Adharma in marital fidelity is portrayed as generating grievous preta-condition and disturbing one’s ancestral and guru-related spiritual order.
Application: Cultivate integrity in relationships and gratitude to teachers/elders; avoid actions that create long-term unrest, guilt, and social harm—seen here as metaphysically destabilizing.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A stark moral allegory: a woman turns away from her husband’s household threshold toward another man’s dwelling, while behind her the silhouettes of pitṛs and a guru-figure fade into a smoky preta-like unrest. The air is heavy, as if the very lineage altar and teacher’s seat tremble from the breach of dharma.","primary_figures":["woman abandoning husband (allegorical)","husband (grief-stricken)","guru figure (austere)","pitṛs (ancestral shades)","preta-forms (restless)"],"setting":"Village courtyard with a lineage shrine (pitṛ-sthāna), guru’s āsana, doorway threshold symbolizing dharma","lighting_mood":"forest dappled","color_palette":["burnt umber","smoky violet","dull crimson","ashen white","shadow black"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: moral tableau with architectural doorway and lineage shrine, gold-leaf highlighting the sacred seat of the guru and pitṛ symbols, contrasted by darkened figures of pretas; rich maroons and greens, heavy jewelry details, expressive eyes conveying censure and consequence.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate courtyard scene with refined facial expressions—husband’s sorrow, woman’s conflicted gaze; translucent ancestral shades in cool grays; delicate patterns on textiles, subdued palette, lyrical but admonitory composition.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, iconic gestures—woman stepping across a threshold line, guru seated in stillness; pitṛs as stylized pale figures; strong reds/yellows/greens with black negative space for preta unrest.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: symbolic composition with ornate borders; central threshold motif, lineage shrine framed by lotus and vine patterns; pretas rendered as faint repeating motifs in the border; deep indigo background with gold accents to heighten didactic contrast."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low drum (mridang-like)","wind gusts","distant jackal cry (subtle)","silence between lines"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: guravaś ca eva → गुरवः च एव; pretās te → प्रेताः ते; cetaraiḥ → च इतरैः; yā nāryo (text) corresponds to yāḥ nāryaḥ (expected) in classical grammar.
FAQs
Pitṛs are ancestral beings associated with the forefathers, traditionally honored through śrāddha and related rites; they represent the ancestral continuum and its ritual-ethical obligations.
It frames marital abandonment and cohabitation with others as a serious breach of dharma, presenting it as karmically harmful and spiritually destabilizing in the text’s moral universe.
The verse links the preta condition (a restless post-death state) to karmic causality, implying that certain actions are believed to lead to painful or unsettled spiritual consequences.