Shloka 15
Description of the Torments within the Cycle of Rebirth: Hymn to Yama and the Introduction to Citragupta’s Administration
क्वचिद्बालः क्वचिद्वृद्धः क्वचिद्रौद्रो नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ त्वया विराजितो लोकः शासितो धर्महेतुना ॥
kvacid bālaḥ kvacid vṛddhaḥ kvacid raudro namo 'stu te | tvayā virājito lokaḥ śāsito dharma-hetunā ||
कभी बालक, कभी वृद्ध, कभी रौद्र—आपको नमस्कार। आपके द्वारा यह लोक शोभित होता है और धर्म के हेतु से शासित होता है।
Ṛṣiputra (continuation of marked speech)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"observer","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"rajaniti","instruction_summary":"The world is to be ‘governed’ (śāsita) for the sake of dharma; rulership/discipline is legitimized only when dharma is the motive and standard.","karmic_consequence":"Dharma-based governance brings loka-śrī (splendor, order); governance divorced from dharma implies disorder and decline (implied by contrast)."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"The verse stresses divine protean manifestation (child/old/fierce) and dharma-centered cosmic administration, not Yajña-Varāha iconography.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"Implied īśvara as niyantṛ (cosmic regulator) who manifests in diverse upādhis while sustaining dharma-order."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"dharma and divine immanence","core_concept":"The same divine principle appears as child, elder, and fierce force, yet its governance aims at dharma and the world’s flourishing.","practical_application":"Model authority (personal or political) on dharma; accept life’s changing phases (bāla/vṛddha) as within divine order."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Cosmology"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: None
Related Themes: VPu 198.15 (protean Kāla/Mṛtyu); VPu 198.17 (without you nothing succeeds)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A single deity is envisioned in three overlapping aspects—child, old man, and fierce form—while the world below shines and is orderly under dharma-rule.","item_prompts":["triptych/three-aspect depiction (child/elder/fierce)","glowing world/people in orderly life","dharma symbol (scale, śāstra, or lotus of order)","aura linking the three forms"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: three registers showing bāla, vṛddha, raudra aspects; below, a harmonious kingdom scene; rich reds/greens with gold highlights.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central composite deity with three aspects suggested by surrounding medallions; gold-leaf halo; below, orderly court/people as loka-śrī.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: elegant composite with subtle transitions between ages; calm background; emphasis on dharma as a serene governing principle.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative vignette—child on one side, elder on the other, fierce form above; pastoral society below, delicate detailing."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic-reverential","suggested_raga":"Kalyani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"clear, authoritative, with uplift on dharma-hetunā"}
FAQs
It provides a textual statement of moral governance: cosmic order is portrayed as rule oriented toward dharma, a recurring Purāṇic theme linking cosmology with ethics.
No geographic location is identified in this verse.
The verse asserts that order and restraint in the world are tied to dharma, encouraging alignment of conduct with moral law.