Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 191
Pitṛmātṛtīrtha Greatness & the Discourse on Embodiment: Karma, Birth, Impurity, and Dispassion
कुठारच्छेदनं तीव्रं वल्कलानां च तक्षणम् । पर्णशाखाफलानां च पातश्चंडेन वायुना
kuṭhāracchedanaṃ tīvraṃ valkalānāṃ ca takṣaṇam | parṇaśākhāphalānāṃ ca pātaścaṃḍena vāyunā
ત્યાં કુહાડીઓથી તીવ્ર કાપકૂટ થાય છે અને છાલ પણ ઉતારી લેવાય છે. પ્રચંડ પવનના વેગથી પાંદડા, ડાળીઓ અને ફળો પણ નીચે પડી જાય છે.
Unspecified narrator (context-dependent within Bhūmi-khaṇḍa narration)
Concept: Harsh, destructive forces mirror the fruits of harmful actions; what one ‘cuts down’ in the world returns as cutting suffering.
Application: Avoid cruelty and needless destruction; cultivate constructive work and service; when anger rises, pause and redirect energy into disciplined practice.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A brutal scene of relentless chopping: axes flash as bark is stripped and wood is hewn, while a cyclone-like wind tears through the canopy, ripping leaves, branches, and fruit into a whirling fall. The environment feels punitive and unnatural—nature itself turned into an instrument of consequence.","primary_figures":["anonymous laborers/wardens (symbolic)","victim-trees as moral allegory","personified Vāyu as a fierce storm form"],"setting":"A dark, storm-lashed grove or infernal wood-yard with splintered trunks, flying leaves, and swirling debris.","lighting_mood":"storm-dark with harsh flashes of light","color_palette":["iron gray","storm blue","splinter brown","sickly green","ember orange"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: dynamic composition of axe-wielding figures stripping bark and felling branches, with a personified fierce Vāyu sweeping across; gold leaf used as sharp highlights on axe blades and flying debris, rich reds/greens for garments, ornate border framing the chaos.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: dramatic storm scene in a forest with delicate yet energetic brushwork—leaves and fruits spiraling in wind, figures mid-swing with axes; cool storm palette, fine line detail on bark textures, expressive motion conveyed through curved wind-lines.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlined figures chopping and stripping bark, stylized wind-god form pushing a torrent of leaves and branches; flat pigments, rhythmic patterning of foliage, intense reds/yellows/greens against dark ground.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical ‘storm of karma’—ornate border of vines, central vortex of wind carrying leaves and fruits, axes rendered as repeating motifs; deep blues and greens with gold accents, decorative yet ominous symmetry."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["howling wind","axe strikes on wood","cracking branches","dusty gusts","distant drum"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: कुठारच्छेदनम् = कुठार + छेदनम्; पातश्चण्डेन = पातः + चण्डेन; चण्डेन वायुना (विशेषण-विशेष्य) ‘चण्डेन वायुना’
FAQs
It depicts intense physical damage to trees—axe-cutting and bark-stripping—along with leaves, branches, and fruits falling due to a strong, violent wind.
The enumeration emphasizes total disruption of the forest ecosystem—damage from human action (axes, stripping) compounded by natural force (a fierce wind).
Not explicitly in this line alone; it primarily functions as vivid narrative imagery. Any theological or ethical lesson would depend on the surrounding verses and the episode being described.