Shloka 76
The Deeds of Sukalā (Vena Episode): Husband as Tīrtha & Pativratā-Dharma
तुष्टे भर्तरि तुष्यंति ऋषयो देवमानवाः । भर्ता नाथो गुरुर्भर्ता देवता दैवतैः सह
tuṣṭe bhartari tuṣyaṃti ṛṣayo devamānavāḥ | bhartā nātho gururbhartā devatā daivataiḥ saha
ഭർത്താവ് സന്തുഷ്ടനായാൽ ഋഷിമാർ, ദേവന്മാർ, മനുഷ്യർ—എല്ലാവരും സന്തുഷ്ടരാകും. ഭർത്താവാണ് നാഥൻ, ഭർത്താവാണ് ഗുരു; ഭർത്താവ് എല്ലാ ദേവന്മാരോടും കൂടിയ ദേവതാസ്വരൂപൻ.
Unspecified (context-dependent narrator/dialogue voice in Bhūmi-khaṇḍa)
Concept: Gṛhastha-dharma is a microcosm of cosmic order; honoring one’s household dharma is framed as honoring the divine.
Application: Cultivate gratitude, respectful speech, and shared vows in marriage; treat daily duties (care, provision, counsel) as sacred service rather than mere social contract.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A serene household shrine room where a devoted wife offers a lamp and flowers, while her husband sits calmly like a presiding deity. In the background, faint celestial silhouettes—ṛṣis, devas, and humans—appear as if their contentment radiates from the couple’s harmony.","primary_figures":["pativratā wife","husband as gṛhapati (symbolically deva-like)","subtle silhouettes of ṛṣis and devas"],"setting":"Domestic altar with tulasī pot, brass lamp, conch, and garlands; courtyard visible beyond","lighting_mood":"temple lamp-lit","color_palette":["warm gold","vermilion red","sandalwood beige","deep indigo","leaf green"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a dignified gṛhastha couple before a home shrine, the husband seated with calm authority like a deity, the wife offering ārati; heavy gold leaf halos, rich reds and greens, ornate jewelry, embossed arch motifs, gem-studded ornaments, traditional South Indian iconography, subtle devas and ṛṣis in the background as gilded silhouettes.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate domestic courtyard scene with delicate brushwork; the wife offers a lamp at a small shrine while the husband sits as protector-teacher; cool yet lyrical palette, refined faces, patterned textiles, distant sages and devas suggested in pale washes, gentle Himalayan-style landscape beyond the veranda.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines and natural pigments; the couple near a lamp-lit shrine with stylized eyes and symmetrical composition; red-yellow-green dominance, decorative borders, devas and ṛṣis as iconic side panels, sacred domesticity emphasized like a temple wall narrative.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: household devotion framed as a sacred mandala; tulasī in the center foreground, lamp and lotus motifs, ornate floral borders; deep blues and gold; subtle Vishnu symbols (śaṅkha-cakra) woven into patterns to suggest divinity within gṛhastha life."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"meditative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["temple bells","soft conch shell","lamp crackle","distant birds","silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: gurur bhartā → gururbhartā (र् + भ); deva+mānavāḥ as dvandva compound.
FAQs
It presents a household-dharma ideal: the husband’s satisfaction is portrayed as harmonizing the wider moral and cosmic order, and the husband is framed as protector, teacher, and a locus of reverence.
The wording is devotional and honorific: it elevates the husband as worthy of divine-style reverence within the household ethic, rather than making a strict metaphysical identity-claim.
As a call to uphold responsibility, guidance, and mutual respect within family life—reading “guru/protector” as duties of care and integrity, not as a license for harm or inequality.