Shloka 46

Origins of the Maruts — Origins of the Maruts Across the Manvantaras (Pulastya–Narada Dialogue)

Devanagari script

चकार पद्मपत्राक्षी सम्यक् चातिथिपूजनम् पतिं शुश्रूषमाणा सा कृशा धमनिसंतता

Transliteration

cakāra padmapatrākṣī samyak cātithipūjanam patiṃ śuśrūṣamāṇā sā kṛśā dhamanisaṃtatā

Translation

The lotus-eyed woman duly performed the honoring of guests. Attending devotedly upon her husband, she became emaciated, her veins standing out in continuous lines.

Speakers

• Narrator voice within the Adhyaya’s exemplum (a rishi/narrator recounting the conduct of a woman to the listening interlocutor in the Saromahatmiya frame)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Atithi-dharma (hospitality)
• Pativratā-dharma (devotion to husband)
• Tapas through self-discipline
• Merit (puṇya) accrued by righteous conduct

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why is hospitality (ātithipūjana) highlighted alongside service to the husband?

Purāṇic dharma often pairs household virtues: honoring guests sustains social-sacral order (yajña-like duty), while śuśrūṣā to the husband exemplifies pativratā ideals. Together they portray a complete gṛhastha ethic that can itself become a form of tapas.

Does “emaciated, veins visible” imply asceticism rather than ordinary household life?

Yes. The description signals intensified austerity—reduced food/sleep and sustained discipline—showing that tapas can be undertaken within household life, not only in formal renunciation.

How does this verse fit a Saromāhātmya (tirtha section) if no tirtha is named?

Tīrtha-māhātmyas frequently embed moral exempla to explain why a place grants results: the narrative demonstrates the kind of dharma/tapas that resonates with the tīrtha’s merit, even when the specific geography is mentioned elsewhere in the chapter.