Shloka 16
अध्याय १३२ — कर्मणा मनसा वाचा: स्वर्गमार्गः तथा आयुर्विपाकः
Adhyāya 132 — The path to heaven through deed, mind, and speech; karmic results for lifespan
भिन्नभाण्डे कलिं प्राहुः: खट्वायां तु धनक्षय: । कुक्कुटे शुनके चैव हविर्नाश्रन्ति देवता: । वृक्षमूले ध्रुवं सत्त्वं तस्माद् वृक्ष न रोपयेत्
bhinnabhāṇḍe kaliṃ prāhuḥ khaṭvāyāṃ tu dhanakṣayaḥ | kukkuṭe śunake caiva havir nāśnanti devatāḥ | vṛkṣamūle dhruvaṃ sattvaṃ tasmād vṛkṣaṃ na ropayet ||
Dhaumya said: “They say that a broken vessel becomes a seat of Kali (discord and decline). Living with a broken cot brings loss of wealth. If a rooster and a dog dwell in a house, the gods do not partake of the oblation (havis) there. And where a tree’s root lies within the dwelling, creatures are surely present (such as snakes and scorpions); therefore one should not plant a tree inside the house.”
धौग्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches household dharma through signs of inauspiciousness: maintain sound, orderly domestic conditions (avoid broken utensils and furniture), preserve ritual cleanliness so offerings are fit for divine acceptance, and avoid practices that invite danger or impurity (like planting large trees within the dwelling where harmful creatures may shelter).
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Dhaumya delivers practical counsel on domestic and ritual propriety, listing specific conditions believed to bring decline, loss, or ritual inacceptability, and concluding with a preventive rule about not planting trees inside the house.