Shloka 159
Means to Slay Tāraka: Girijā’s Birth, Kāma’s Burning, and Umā’s Austerities
तृष्णा मुष्णाति निष्णातं फललोभाश्रयात्पुनः । स्त्रीणां हि परमं जन्म कुलानामुभयात्मनाम्
tṛṣṇā muṣṇāti niṣṇātaṃ phalalobhāśrayātpunaḥ | strīṇāṃ hi paramaṃ janma kulānāmubhayātmanām
Le désir dépouille même l’homme instruit, lorsqu’il se réfugie de nouveau dans l’avidité des fruits. En vérité, la plus haute destinée des femmes est de soutenir les lignées des familles des deux côtés, maternel et paternel.
Unspecified (context-dependent within Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa narrative)
Concept: Desire (tṛṣṇā) can steal even a learned person’s clarity when driven by fruit-greed; social roles and lineage duties are framed as a ‘highest destiny’ within worldly dharma.
Application: Watch for subtle ‘result-greed’ in spiritual or social actions; practice offering outcomes to God, and act from duty and compassion rather than reputation.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A sage instructs a small gathering: one side shows a learned man distracted by glittering coins and ritual rewards, while the other shows a calm householder offering a simple lamp with folded hands. Above them, an abstract motif of a ‘thief’ made of smoke symbolizes tṛṣṇā stealing discernment.","primary_figures":["a teaching sage","a learned man tempted by rewards","a steady householder","symbolic figure of tṛṣṇā (allegorical)"],"setting":"ashram teaching pavilion with palm-leaf manuscripts, offering tray, and a simple yajna-kunda","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["manuscript tan","saffron gold","smoke grey","emerald green","midnight blue"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: didactic tableau with a rishi teaching, one figure reaching toward gold coins (phala-lobha) and another offering a lamp to Vishnu, gold leaf emphasizing coins and halos, rich reds/greens, ornate borders, traditional iconography with moral symbolism.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: split-scene moral illustration, delicate brushwork, cool natural palette, sage under a canopy, subtle symbolic smoke-thief of desire, refined faces showing temptation vs serenity, lyrical ashram landscape.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, allegorical tṛṣṇā as smoky form, sage with commanding posture, strong red/yellow/green pigments, temple-wall didactic composition with clear moral contrast.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: devotional moral panel framed by lotus and floral borders, deep blue ground with gold highlights, central sage, side vignettes of greed vs offering, peacocks and vines, intricate ornamentation in Nathdwara-inspired layout."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"authoritative","suggested_raga":"Bhupali","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["palm-leaf pages turning","soft mridangam pulse","temple bell punctuations","morning birds"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: फललोभाश्रयात् = फल + लोभ + आश्रयात्; कुलानामुभयात्मनाम् = कुलानाम् + उभयात्मनाम्
FAQs
It warns that craving—especially when tied to greed for outcomes—can undermine even a well-educated person’s discernment and steadiness.
It presents attachment to outcomes as the foothold through which craving re-enters and ‘steals’ one’s wisdom, implying a need for disciplined, duty-oriented action rather than result-obsession.
It states that a woman’s highest role/destiny is connected with sustaining and honoring family lineages—understood here as encompassing both maternal and paternal lines (ubhayātmanām).