Shloka 69
Śāpaprāpti (Receiving a Curse) — Mohinī Narrative
शौकरस्पर्शनाद्वापि नरो देवार्चनेन वा । व्याहृते कथितं विप्रैः सेयमद्य सुनिष्ठुरा ॥ ६८ ॥
śaukarasparśanādvāpi naro devārcanena vā | vyāhṛte kathitaṃ vipraiḥ seyamadya suniṣṭhurā || 68 ||
Whether by merely touching a boar, or even by worshipping the deity—so the Brahmins have stated regarding the uttered formula; yet today this rule appears exceedingly harsh.
Narrative voice within the Adhyaya (traditional dialogue attribution: Narada in discourse as preserved by the Purana)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
It highlights the tension between strict ritual injunctions (purity rules) and lived religious practice, noting that certain prescribed consequences can feel excessively severe.
By contrasting contact-based impurity with acts like deity worship, it implicitly raises the question of how ritual rules interface with sincere devotion—suggesting that rigid externalism can appear harsh without inner understanding.
It points to mantra-prayoga and ritual speech (the use of vyāhṛti), a practical aspect tied to Śikṣā (phonetics) and Kalpa (ritual procedure) in applying purity and expiation rules.