Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 45
Dialogue of Gobhila and Padmāvatī: Daitya Obstruction vs. the Power of Pativratā Dharma
भवती पुंश्चली नाम यया त्यक्तः स्वकः पतिः । पृथक्छय्या यदा नारी तदा सा पुंश्चली मता
bhavatī puṃścalī nāma yayā tyaktaḥ svakaḥ patiḥ | pṛthakchayyā yadā nārī tadā sā puṃścalī matā
സ്വന്തം ഭർത്താവിനെ ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച സ്ത്രീ ‘പുംശ്ചലീ’ എന്നു വിളിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു; ഭർത്താവിൽ നിന്ന് വേറിട്ട ശയ്യയിൽ ശയിക്കുന്ന സ്ത്രീയും ‘പുംശ്ചലീ’ എന്നേ കണക്കാക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.
Unspecified (context-dependent; likely within a didactic dialogue)
Concept: A normative definition is given: abandoning one’s husband or living separately is labeled as sexual/marital transgression.
Application: Treat commitments seriously; if separation occurs, handle it with honesty, responsibility, and non-harm rather than secrecy or exploitation.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A didactic moment freezes into a tableau: the admonisher recites a harsh definition like a legal pronouncement, while the woman stands slightly apart, visually echoing the ‘separate bed’ motif. The composition emphasizes distance—space between two figures becomes the symbol of broken dharma.","primary_figures":["Dharma-admonisher (sage/elder)","Woman standing apart"],"setting":"Simple domestic threshold suggested within a forest hermitage—mat, low cot, and a doorway—blending household imagery with ascetic surroundings.","lighting_mood":"lamp-lit austerity","color_palette":["warm amber","mud brown","indigo","dull gold","pale linen"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: hermitage interior with a low cot and a visible separation between figures, admonisher delivering a dharma-definition, gold leaf on borders and minimal jewelry, rich earthy reds/greens, iconographic clarity like a moral panel.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate hermitage scene with delicate textiles and a small cot, the woman positioned apart to signify ‘pṛthak-śayyā’, soft shading, refined faces, gentle but stern didactic mood, muted mountain palette.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, simplified hermitage props (cot, doorway), the admonisher’s gesture of instruction, the woman placed at a distance, red-yellow-green palette with dark indigo background, didactic temple-wall feel.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: symbolic domestic vignette framed by floral borders, stylized cot and threshold, deep blue ground with gold accents, figures arranged to emphasize separation, decorative motifs (lotus/vines) contrasting with stern moral content."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"authoritative","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low drone (tanpura)","soft lamp crackle","night insects","measured pauses like legal clauses"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: पृथक्छय्या = पृथक् + शय्या (अव्ययीभाव-समास/सन्धि); अन्यत्र स्पष्टपदानि।
FAQs
It defines ‘puṃścalī’ as a woman who abandons her own husband, and it further states that a woman who maintains a separate bed from her husband is also considered ‘puṃścalī’ in this passage.
It is primarily ethical/social in focus, presenting a normative judgment about marital conduct rather than a doctrinal point about devotion or metaphysics.
The verse upholds marital fidelity and conjugal unity as standards of conduct and treats abandonment or deliberate separation (symbolized by separate sleeping) as blameworthy.