Shloka 14
स्वामिनो भर्त्सनां नित्यं कुर्यात्कामं तु निष्ठुरा । पादरज्जुर्भवेच्चासौ कस्माद्वै न मृतोऽपि च
svāmino bhartsanāṃ nityaṃ kuryātkāmaṃ tu niṣṭhurā | pādarajjurbhaveccāsau kasmādvai na mṛto'pi ca
അവൾ നിത്യവും ഭർത്താവിനെ ശാസിച്ചു നിന്ദിക്കുകയും, നിഷ്ഠുരയായി ഇഷ്ടംപോലെ പെരുമാറുകയും ചെയ്തു. അവൾ പാദരജ്ജുവായി (കാലിലെ കയർ) മാറി—എന്നിട്ടും അവൾ എന്തുകൊണ്ട് മരിച്ചില്ല?
Unspecified (context needed to identify the narrator/speaker in Adhyaya 20)
Concept: Nindā (habitual abuse) and nishṭhuratā (cruelty) toward one’s spouse are adharma that ripen into degrading karmic states; moral death can precede bodily death.
Application: Guard speech at home; replace contempt with seva-bhāva, apology, and restraint; treat marriage as a dharmic vow rather than a field for domination.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A dim interior of a humble house: a woman stands with a hard, contemptuous gaze, her hand raised in scolding, while the husband sits bowed, shadowed by sorrow. In the corner, a symbolic vision appears—an ominous foot-strap/rope coiling like fate, hinting at karmic degradation rather than immediate death.","primary_figures":["cruel wife (symbolic)","husband (suffering householder)","karmic apparition as foot-rope (allegorical)"],"setting":"domestic courtyard with oil lamp, sparse household vessels, threshold marked with faint rangoli now disturbed","lighting_mood":"temple lamp-lit","color_palette":["smoky umber","lamp-gold","ash gray","deep maroon","indigo shadow"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a moral-allegory tableau inside a South Indian home, the wife in rich maroon sari with sharp expression, the husband seated in humility; a stylized golden aura behind a coiling foot-strap symbolizing karma; heavy gold leaf highlights on ornaments and lamp flame, rich reds/greens, embossed borders, traditional iconographic symmetry.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate domestic scene with delicate lines—woman scolding, husband downcast; a lyrical yet ominous symbolic foot-strap motif curling near the threshold; cool muted palette, fine facial expressions, minimal interior architecture, subtle night-blue shadows.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines and expressive eyes; the wife’s fierce mukha-bhāva contrasted with the husband’s śānta sorrow; a stylized serpent-like foot-strap emblem of karma; warm red/yellow/green pigments, temple-wall aesthetic, lamp-lit ambience.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical domestic vignette framed by ornate floral borders and lotus motifs; central negative-space symbol of a coiling foot-strap as karmic bondage; deep indigo background with gold detailing, peacocks subdued at corners to suggest moral warning rather than celebration."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple bell","distant night insects","soft drum pulse","brief silence after the karmic question"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: कुर्यात्कामम् = कुर्यात् + कामम्; भवेच्चासौ = भवेत् + च + असौ; मृतोऽपि = मृतः + अपि (विसर्ग→ओऽ before vowel).
FAQs
It warns that habitual cruelty and abusive conduct—especially within close relationships—leads to degrading consequences, framed here as a karmic result.
Literally “foot-rope/foot-cord,” understood as a strap or cord associated with the feet; in purāṇic moral narratives it can indicate a humiliating or lowly transformed state.
It is a rhetorical emphasis: despite the severity of her wrongdoing, the narrative highlights that her consequence was transformation/continued suffering rather than immediate death.