Nīti on Friendship (Mitra), Discretion, Restraint, Health-Regimens, Prosperity (Śrī), and Family Dharma
पराधीना निद्रा परदृदयकृत्यानुसरणं सदा हेला हास्यं नियतमपि शोकेन रहितम् / पणे न्यस्तः कायो विटजनखुरैर्दारितगलो बहूत्कण्ठवृतिर्जगति गणिक्राया बहुमतः
parādhīnā nidrā paradṛdayakṛtyānusaraṇaṃ sadā helā hāsyaṃ niyatamapi śokena rahitam / paṇe nyastaḥ kāyo viṭajanakhurairdāritagalo bahūtkaṇṭhavṛtirjagati gaṇikrāyā bahumataḥ
Su sueño depende de otros; siempre se ve forzada a seguir los dictados del corazón ajeno. Hay risa descuidada y alegría fingida de continuo, pero sin verdadero dolor. Su cuerpo es puesto en prenda en el juego; su garganta es desgarrada por los cascos de hombres dominados por la lujuria. Viviendo de muchas gargantas (muchos patronos), en el mundo la cortesana, aun así, es tenida por «muy valiosa».
Lord Vishnu (in dialogue to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Worldly society commodifies bodies and masks suffering with performative mirth; apparent honor can coexist with deep harm.
Vedantic Theme: Māyā of social prestige (loka-yaśas) and the bondage of kāma/artha; duḥkha arising from identification with body and transactional relations.
Application: Cultivate compassion and social responsibility; oppose exploitation; recognize performative happiness as possible trauma; practice ethical sexuality and non-harm.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.114.13 (catalog of swift dangers; social hazards)
This verse functions as a dharmic warning: it exposes how a life driven by others’ desires and vice (kāma, gambling, exploitation) leads to bondage, humiliation, and hidden suffering even when society calls it “valuable.”
By highlighting dependence, compulsive compliance, and bodily/mental injury caused by vice, the verse indicates how desire-based livelihoods intensify karmic entanglement, which the Garuda Purana later connects to painful post-death consequences.
Avoid livelihoods and habits that commodify the body or exploit desire; cultivate self-restraint and compassion, and choose ethical means of living that reduce harm and karmic bondage.