Shloka 40
The Glory of Truthful Oaths and Keeping One’s Promise
Satya & Pratijñā
दत्वाशां यो जनः कुर्यान्नैराश्यं चैव मूढधीः । स स्वकान्कोटिपुरुषान्गृहीत्वा नरकं व्रजेत्
datvāśāṃ yo janaḥ kuryānnairāśyaṃ caiva mūḍhadhīḥ | sa svakānkoṭipuruṣāngṛhītvā narakaṃ vrajet
മൂഢബുദ്ധിയുള്ളവൻ ആദ്യം ആശ നൽകി പിന്നെ നിരാശ വരുത്തിയാൽ, അവൻ തന്റെ കോടിക്കണക്കിന് സ്വജനങ്ങളെയും കൂട്ടിക്കൊണ്ട് നരകത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുന്നു।
Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator context)
Concept: To give hope/assurance and then induce despair is a grave breach of trust that multiplies sin and drags many into suffering.
Application: Do not promise what you cannot deliver; communicate boundaries honestly; avoid manipulative reassurance in charity, leadership, or spiritual guidance.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A figure extends a hand in promise beneath a canopy, a warm glow of hope lighting the faces of many gathered people; in the next visual beat, the same hand withdraws, and the crowd’s light collapses into shadow. Behind them yawns a stylized naraka chasm, suggesting that betrayal of assurance becomes a collective fall.","primary_figures":["Householder/leader figure (the promiser)","A group of dependents/supplicants","Yama’s messengers (subtle, in the background)"],"setting":"A public courtyard or assembly space transitioning into a symbolic underworld fissure at the edge of the scene.","lighting_mood":"dramatic chiaroscuro","color_palette":["saffron glow","charcoal black","rust red","ashen gray","cold violet"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: central figure with raised blessing/promise gesture, crowd with hopeful faces; gold leaf halo-like aura around the initial promise, then darkened lower register showing a stylized naraka fissure with red-black flames; ornate borders, rich reds/greens, gem-studded ornaments on the central figure to heighten irony of moral failure.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: two-part narrative composition—left panel warm hopeful assembly, right panel cool shadowed despair; delicate brushwork, refined expressions, architectural pavilion, subtle underworld motif as a dark ravine; restrained palette with lyrical contrast.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines—promiser at center, crowd in rhythmic rows; background shifts from yellow-red hope to deep green/black despair; stylized Yama-dūtas at margins; temple-wall compositional symmetry and patterned borders.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical scene framed by floral borders—hope depicted as blooming lotuses around the promise, despair as withered lotuses near a dark ravine; intricate motifs, deep blue ground with gold highlights, narrative symbolism rather than literal horror."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["sharp bell strikes","distant thunder roll","murmur of a crowd fading to silence","low drum pulse"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: datvā + āśām = datvāśām (Savarna-dirgha); kuryāt + nairāśyam = kuryānnairāśyam (Anunasika); ca + eva = caiva (Vriddhi); koṭipuruṣān + gṛhītvā = koṭipuruṣāngṛhītvā (Anusvara/Parasavarna)
FAQs
The verse functions as an ethical warning: creating trust and then undermining it is treated as a serious breach of dharma. The imagery of heavy consequence underscores that speech and promises shape others’ inner stability, and thus carry spiritual accountability.