Shloka 54
धर्मनिन्दा–धर्मोपासनाफलम् तथा साध्वाचारलक्षणम्
Fruits of Disparaging vs. Observing Dharma; Marks of Good Conduct
ब्राह्मणो5पि महत् क्षेत्र लोके चरति पादवत् | यत् तत्र बीज॑ं वपति सा कृषि: प्रेत्य भाविनि
brāhmaṇo 'pi mahat kṣetraṃ loke carati pādavat | yat tatra bījaṃ vapati sā kṛṣiḥ pretya bhāvini, bhāmini ||
Mahādeva dit : « Un brāhmaṇa aussi est un grand “champ” qui se meut dans le monde — un champ pourvu de pieds. La semence qu’on y jette devient, après la mort, moisson : une culture qui procure subsistance et destinée dans le monde à venir, ô belle dame. »
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Acts ‘sown’ into a worthy recipient—here symbolized by the brāhmaṇa as a living, moving field—mature into results after death. The verse urges mindful giving and ethical action with an eye on long-term karmic consequences.
Śrī Maheśvara addresses a goddess/consort (vocatively ‘bhāvini, bhāmini’) and explains, through an agrarian metaphor, how offerings or deeds directed toward brāhmaṇas function like sowing seed in a fertile field, producing posthumous spiritual and existential ‘harvest’.