Nīti on Friendship (Mitra), Discretion, Restraint, Health-Regimens, Prosperity (Śrī), and Family Dharma
पराधीना निद्रा परदृदयकृत्यानुसरणं सदा हेला हास्यं नियतमपि शोकेन रहितम् / पणे न्यस्तः कायो विटजनखुरैर्दारितगलो बहूत्कण्ठवृतिर्जगति गणिक्राया बहुमतः
parādhīnā nidrā paradṛdayakṛtyānusaraṇaṃ sadā helā hāsyaṃ niyatamapi śokena rahitam / paṇe nyastaḥ kāyo viṭajanakhurairdāritagalo bahūtkaṇṭhavṛtirjagati gaṇikrāyā bahumataḥ
ಅವಳ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಪರಾಧೀನ; ಅವಳು ಸದಾ ಪರರ ಹೃದಯದ ಬೇಡಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ಅನುಸರಿಸಲು ಬಾಧ್ಯಳಾಗಿರುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ನಿರಂತರ ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಷ್ಯದ ನಗು, ಬಲವಂತದ ಹಾಸ್ಯ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ; ಆದರೆ ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಜವಾದ ಶೋಕವಿಲ್ಲ. ಜೂಜಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅವಳ ದೇಹವನ್ನು ಪಣವಾಗಿ ಇಡುತ್ತಾರೆ; ಕಾಮುಕ ಪುರುಷರ ಖುರಗಳಂತ ಪ್ರಹಾರಗಳಿಂದ ಅವಳ ಕಂಠ ಚೀರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅನೇಕ ಆಶ್ರಯದಾತರ ಮೇಲೆ ಬದುಕುವ ಆ ಗಣಿಕೆ, ಆದರೂ ಲೋಕದಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಬಹುಮೌಲ್ಯ’ವೆಂದು ಎಣಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಾಳೆ.
Lord Vishnu (in dialogue to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Worldly society commodifies bodies and masks suffering with performative mirth; apparent honor can coexist with deep harm.
Vedantic Theme: Māyā of social prestige (loka-yaśas) and the bondage of kāma/artha; duḥkha arising from identification with body and transactional relations.
Application: Cultivate compassion and social responsibility; oppose exploitation; recognize performative happiness as possible trauma; practice ethical sexuality and non-harm.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.114.13 (catalog of swift dangers; social hazards)
This verse functions as a dharmic warning: it exposes how a life driven by others’ desires and vice (kāma, gambling, exploitation) leads to bondage, humiliation, and hidden suffering even when society calls it “valuable.”
By highlighting dependence, compulsive compliance, and bodily/mental injury caused by vice, the verse indicates how desire-based livelihoods intensify karmic entanglement, which the Garuda Purana later connects to painful post-death consequences.
Avoid livelihoods and habits that commodify the body or exploit desire; cultivate self-restraint and compassion, and choose ethical means of living that reduce harm and karmic bondage.