Shloka 78
Determination of the Householder’s Dharma
Dāna: Types, Recipients, Timing, and Fruits
इति देवमनादिमेकमीशं गृहधर्मेण समर्चयेदजस्रम् । समतीत्य स सर्वभूतयोनिं प्रकृतिं याति परं न याति जन्म
iti devamanādimekamīśaṃ gṛhadharmeṇa samarcayedajasram | samatītya sa sarvabhūtayoniṃ prakṛtiṃ yāti paraṃ na yāti janma
So soll man unablässig den einen Herrn, den anfanglosen Gott, durch die Pflichten des Hausstandes verehren. Nachdem er Prakṛti, den Schoß aller Wesen, überschritten hat, erlangt er das Höchste und geht nicht wieder in Geburt ein.
Unspecified narrator/speaker (context not provided for dialogue attribution)
Concept: Household duties, when offered as continuous worship to the beginningless one Lord, become a means to transcend prakṛti and attain the Supreme beyond rebirth.
Application: Transform routine responsibilities into worship: dedicate work, family care, and ethical conduct to the Lord; maintain daily remembrance (smaraṇa) alongside duty.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A humble household altar glows with a steady lamp as a devotee offers daily duties like flowers—symbolic scenes of caring for family, feeding guests, and honoring elders dissolve into a vision of the beginningless Lord. Above, the cosmic veil of prakṛti—woven of the three guṇas—parts like a curtain, revealing the radiant Supreme Abode where rebirth cannot reach.","primary_figures":["Vishnu (anādi-eka-īśa)","gṛhastha devotee","personified Prakṛti (as guṇa-weave, optional allegory)"],"setting":"domestic shrine transitioning into a cosmic vista; lotus motifs bridging home and transcendence","lighting_mood":"divine radiance","color_palette":["sapphire blue","lotus pink","gold leaf","pearl white","deep emerald"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: Vishnu enthroned on a lotus with conch-disc-mace-lotus, lavish gold leaf aura; below, a small gṛhastha shrine with lamp and offerings; a shimmering guṇa-curtain parting; rich reds/greens, gem-studded ornaments, ornate arch framing the ‘paramaṃ padam’.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate home worship scene blending into a celestial horizon; delicate clouds and lotus pools; Vishnu’s form luminous yet gentle; fine textile patterns suggesting guṇas; cool blues and soft pinks with refined facial serenity.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines, saturated natural pigments; Vishnu’s large expressive eyes and symmetrical posture; stylized guṇa-pattern backdrop; domestic lamp and offerings rendered iconically; temple-wall grandeur meeting household simplicity.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: Krishna/Vishnu-centered composition with abundant lotus borders, peacocks and floral arabesques; deep blue field with gold highlights; the devotee’s household acts depicted in small vignettes around the central deity, culminating in a radiant ‘no-rebirth’ celestial mandala."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"devotional","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"serene","sound_elements":["temple bells","conch shell (soft, distant)","lamp crackle","deep silence after cadence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: देवम्+अनादिम्+एकम्+ईशम् → देवमनादिमेकमीशम्; समर्चयेत्+अजस्रम् → समर्चयेदजस्रम्; सर्वभूतयोनिम् (समासपदम्); न+याति → न याति (पदच्छेदः)
FAQs
It teaches that everyday household duties, when performed as worship of the one beginningless Lord, become a continuous spiritual practice that can culminate in liberation.
Prakṛti is described as the material/primordial basis from which embodied existence arises; transcending it implies going beyond material conditioning and the cycle of embodied becoming.
It elevates disciplined, dutiful living—performed with devotion and God-centered intent—showing that ethical responsibility and spiritual realization are not opposed.