Shloka 67
Determination of the Householder’s Dharma
Dāna: Types, Recipients, Timing, and Fruits
तावुभौ गच्छतः स्वर्गं नरकं तु विपर्यये । न वार्यपि प्रयच्छेत नास्तिके हैतुकेपि च
tāvubhau gacchataḥ svargaṃ narakaṃ tu viparyaye | na vāryapi prayaccheta nāstike haitukepi ca
De los dos, uno va al cielo y el otro, por el contrario, al infierno. No se debe dar ni siquiera agua a un nāstika (ateo), aunque discuta con razonamientos astutos.
Unspecified (contextual narrator/teacher voice within Svarga-khaṇḍa 57)
Concept: Association and giving must be discriminating: right conduct leads to heaven, its opposite to hell; do not support nāstikas (deniers of sacred authority) even with minimal charity.
Application: Exercise discernment in patronage: support teachers and causes aligned with ethical and devotional integrity; avoid empowering harmful ideologies even if rhetorically sophisticated.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A symbolic split-scene: on one side, a luminous stairway rises to Svarga where a humble donor offers water and food to a devoted, prayerful recipient; on the other, a shadowed descent opens toward Naraka where a clever-tongued skeptic gestures in debate, rejected by the donor who turns away with firm restraint. The composition emphasizes moral bifurcation—light versus darkness, faith versus corrosive denial.","primary_figures":["devotee donor","pious recipient","nāstika debater (symbolic)","Yama’s attendants (distant, symbolic)"],"setting":"Mythic crossroads with a bright celestial path and a dark chasm-like path, framed by clouds and smoke.","lighting_mood":"divine radiance","color_palette":["radiant gold","cloud white","midnight indigo","ash gray","crimson"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: dual-panel moral tableau with gold-leaf Svarga on the left—celestial arches, apsaras faintly visible, donor offering a sanctified vessel; right panel with darker tones—Naraka gate motifs, stern figures in shadow; heavy gold ornamentation on the righteous side, dramatic contrast, traditional iconographic symmetry.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: refined split landscape—soft blue-green hills and bright sky for the righteous path, smoky ravine for the fallen path; delicate figures with expressive hand gestures, subtle moral drama, fine borders and floral motifs.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines and high-contrast palette—Svarga rendered in bright yellow and green with stylized clouds; Naraka in deep red and black; expressive eyes and emphatic mudrās conveying refusal and warning.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: symbolic Vaishnava moral allegory—central lotus border, left side with temple-like sanctity and gold, right side with dark swirling motifs; peacocks and lotuses only on the righteous side, intricate patterning and narrative vignettes."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["conch shell","temple bells","distant thunder","low drum pulse","sudden silence on ‘na vāry api’"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: तावुभौ = तौ + उभौ; वार्यपि = वारि + अपि; प्रयच्छेत is optative; नास्तिके/हैतुके are used in locative with dative sense (recipient).
FAQs
It contrasts spiritual outcomes (heaven vs. hell) and advises discernment in charity—specifically warning against offering even minimal gifts (like water) to a nāstika characterized here as a disputatious rationalist.
In Purāṇic usage, a nāstika commonly refers to one who rejects Vedic authority and/or denies God and dharma; here it is further qualified by 'haituka'—one who argues through reasoning in a contentious way.
No; it criticizes the stance of a 'haituka nāstika'—reasoning used to deny dharma or undermine faith—rather than condemning thoughtful inquiry itself.