Shloka 88
Merit of Causeways and Crossings, Temple Construction Rewards, and the Rudrākṣa Mahātmya
लिंगरूपस्य देवस्य यो धनं हरते नरः । स च रौरवमासाद्य हरणात्कीटतां व्रजेत्
liṃgarūpasya devasya yo dhanaṃ harate naraḥ | sa ca rauravamāsādya haraṇātkīṭatāṃ vrajet
ലിംഗരൂപനായ ദേവന്റെ ധനം ആരെങ്കിലും കവർന്നാൽ, അവൻ റൗരവ നരകത്തിൽ പതിച്ച് ആ മോഷണഫലമായി കീടയോനിയിൽ ജനിക്കും।
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within the Adhyaya context)
Concept: Stealing wealth dedicated to a deity is grave adharma leading to naraka and degraded rebirth.
Application: Treat religious donations and temple funds as inviolable; practice transparent stewardship; avoid even small misappropriations in sacred contexts.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A shadowed temple treasury chamber: a man furtively lifts coins and ornaments meant for worship, while the liṅga’s presence looms as a sacred witness. The scene dissolves into a terrifying vision of Raurava—dark ravines, iron heat-haze, and writhing forms—signaling karmic consequence and degraded rebirth.","primary_figures":["Śiva-liṅga (as sacred form)","thief","nāraka-yātanā figures (messengers of Yama)"],"setting":"Temple inner precinct transitioning into a hell-realm landscape","lighting_mood":"dramatic","color_palette":["charcoal black","smoldering crimson","ash gray","sulfur yellow","cold steel blue"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: foreground temple sanctum with a polished black liṅga on a yoni-pīṭha, gold-leaf lamp stands and offerings; a thief clutching coins, eyes wide; background framed as a gold-arched vignette showing Raurava with fiery reds, stylized Yama-dūtas, and ornate borders emphasizing moral warning.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: split-scene composition—left: quiet stone sanctum with delicate detailing, right: stark ravine of Raurava with smoky washes; fine linework on the thief’s anxious face, muted earth tones shifting to ominous reds, minimal but expressive demon figures.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, high-contrast reds and blacks; central liṅga as a powerful icon, thief rendered with exaggerated eyes; Yama-dūtas in stylized forms, flame motifs and serpent-like curves, temple-wall narrative panel aesthetic.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: unconventional moral tableau—temple border of lotuses and bells, central sanctum with offerings; the lower register shows a symbolic Raurava as swirling dark floral patterns turning into flames, with intricate borders and deep blues contrasted by crimson warnings."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple drum","conch shell (distant)","echoing footsteps","metallic clink of coins","ominous silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: लिंगरूपस्य = लिङ्ग + रूपस्य; रौरवमासाद्य = रौरवम् + आसाद्य; हरणात्कीटताम् = हरणात् + कीटताम्.
FAQs
It condemns stealing property dedicated to the deity (especially Liṅga-worship) and frames it as a grave sin with severe karmic consequences.
Raurava is described in Purāṇic literature as a hell-realm (naraka) associated with intense suffering for certain sins; here it is linked to theft from the deity.
It presents a karmic retribution theme: after suffering in naraka, the sinner is said to fall into a degraded birth (kīṭatā) as a further consequence of sacrilegious theft.