Shloka 38
The Five Great Sacrifices: Supremacy of Honoring Parents, Pativrata Dharma, Truthfulness, and Śrāddha
हितं मे सर्वलोकानां तत्वतो वक्तुमर्हसि । मूक उवाच । पित्रोरर्चां करोम्यद्य कथमायामि तेंतिकं
hitaṃ me sarvalokānāṃ tatvato vaktumarhasi | mūka uvāca | pitrorarcāṃ karomyadya kathamāyāmi teṃtikaṃ
“സകല ലോകങ്ങളുടെ ഹിതം സത്യമായി എനിക്ക് പറയേണ്ടതാണ്.” മൂകൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“ഇന്ന് ഞാൻ എന്റെ മാതാപിതാക്കളുടെ ആരാധന ചെയ്യുന്നു; അപ്പോൾ എങ്ങനെ ഞാൻ നിന്റെ അടുത്തേക്ക് വരും?”
Mūka (responding in dialogue)
Concept: Universal welfare (hita of all worlds) is grounded in truthful counsel and in honoring parents; personal desire must harmonize with dharma.
Application: Keep commitments to family duties and elders while pursuing spiritual goals; speak truth that benefits others, not merely what flatters.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"The once-mute figure speaks with calm firmness, palms joined, explaining that today is reserved for worship of parents—an unshakable dharmic anchor. The brāhmaṇa listens, the temple air thick with incense, as duty gently redirects the current of longing into righteous order.","primary_figures":["Mūka (now speaking)","Vipra (brāhmaṇa)"],"setting":"Domestic shrine corner or temple-adjacent home threshold with a small pitṛ-altar: water vessel, sesame, flowers, and a lamp.","lighting_mood":"forest dappled","color_palette":["earth brown","lamp gold","white jasmine","deep green","copper"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a small pitṛ-altar with lamp and offerings in the foreground; mūka speaking with añjali mudrā, brāhmaṇa attentive; gold leaf on lamp flame and subtle halos, rich red-green borders, ornate but intimate domestic-temple fusion.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: quiet household corner with a simple altar, copper pot, flowers; gentle natural light, delicate expressions of restraint and sincerity, soft palette with fine linework, emphasis on ethical calm.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: stylized pitṛ-arcana setup—lamp, vessel, offerings—bold outlines; mūka in speaking posture, brāhmaṇa listening; warm yellow-red background with green accents, temple-wall compositional symmetry.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: devotional domestic scene framed by floral borders; central lamp motif, offerings arranged symmetrically; deep blue or maroon ground with gold detailing, lotus patterns subtly indicating purity of duty."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["water pouring (libation)","soft bell","incense crackle","quiet household ambience"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: वक्तुमर्हसि = वक्तुम् + अर्हसि; पित्रोरर्चाम् = पित्रोः + अर्चाम्; करोम्यद्य = करोमि + अद्य; कथमायामि = कथम् + आयामि; तेंतिकं पाठः = ते + अन्तिकम् (लिप्यन्तर-दोषसम्भवः)
FAQs
It prioritizes duty and reverence toward one’s parents (pitṛ-sevā/arcā) as a legitimate obligation, even when summoned elsewhere.
The speaker is Mūka, who replies that he is engaged in worshiping his parents and therefore asks how he can come into the other person’s presence at that moment.
It frames ‘benefit for all’ (sarvaloka-hita) as grounded in truthful guidance and in fulfilling immediate righteous duties—here, honoring parents—before other engagements.