Shloka 91
Prohibitions and Rules of Right Conduct (Ācāra): Theft, Speech, Purity, Residence, and Social Boundaries
न वर्त्मनि चितिं वाममतिक्रामेत्क्वचिद्द्विजः । न निंदेद्योगिनः सिद्धान्व्रतिनो वा यतींस्तथा
na vartmani citiṃ vāmamatikrāmetkvaciddvijaḥ | na niṃdedyoginaḥ siddhānvratino vā yatīṃstathā
Un hombre dos veces nacido no debe, en ninguna circunstancia, pisar ni pasar por encima de una pira funeraria en el camino. Tampoco debe jamás denigrar a los yoguis, a los siddhas, a los ascetas de voto ni a los yatis renunciantes.
Unspecified (didactic narrator within the Svarga-khaṇḍa context)
Concept: Do not violate liminal sacred/impure boundaries (like a pyre) and never disparage realized or vowed practitioners; humility safeguards spiritual progress.
Application: Cultivate speech-discipline: refrain from mocking spiritual practitioners; show respect at cremation grounds and in encounters with death; practice humility as a daily vow.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A dvija traveler on a dusty path encounters a funeral pyre set slightly aside, smoke rising into a still sky; he steps carefully around it without crossing or disrespecting the space. Nearby, a serene yogin and a vowed ascetic sit beneath a tree, and the traveler bows with folded hands, his face softened by humility and awareness of mortality.","primary_figures":["dvija traveler","yogin","vratin (vowed ascetic)","yati (renunciant)"],"setting":"Cremation-ground edge near a village path with sparse trees, ash-gray earth, and a quiet hermitage-like corner.","lighting_mood":"forest dappled","color_palette":["ash gray","smoke white","earth brown","sage green","muted saffron"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a symbolic cremation-ground edge with a small pyre and curling smoke, gold-leaf used sparingly to sanctify the act of reverence, the traveler in white dhoti bowing to seated yogins with ornate yet restrained halos, rich maroons and greens, traditional iconographic clarity.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: delicate depiction of smoke and quiet path, subdued palette, the traveler stepping aside with careful gesture, yogin and yati under a tree with refined faces, gentle melancholy and calm, fine brushwork on ash and foliage.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, stylized pyre and smoke motifs, yogin figures with characteristic eyes and ornaments of austerity, the traveler in respectful añjali, earthy reds/yellows/greens with patterned ground.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: devotional moral tableau framed by floral borders, the pyre rendered as a small symbolic element, ascetics seated amid lotus motifs signifying inner purity, deep indigo background with gold accents emphasizing reverence and restraint."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"meditative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"serene","sound_elements":["soft wind","distant crackle of fire","low chanting","silence between phrases","crows far away"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: vāmam atikrāmet → vāmam + atikrāmet; atikrāmet kvacit → atikrāmet + kvacit; niṃded → nindet (anusvāra by sandhi); siddhān vratinaḥ → siddhān + vratinaḥ.
FAQs
It teaches sadācāra (right conduct): avoid disrespectful or impure actions (like stepping over a funeral pyre) and refrain from criticizing spiritual practitioners such as yogins, siddhas, and renunciants.
Because such practitioners represent disciplined spiritual life; disparaging them is treated as a moral fault that undermines humility, reverence, and one’s own spiritual progress.
It emphasizes reverence toward sacred contexts (death rites) and respectful speech toward those devoted to spiritual discipline—two practical foundations of dharmic living.