Shloka 42
Prohibitions and Rules of Right Conduct (Ācāra): Theft, Speech, Purity, Residence, and Social Boundaries
तानि पुत्रान्पशून्घ्नंति तेषां मिथ्याभिशंसिनाम् । ब्रह्महत्या सुरापाने स्तेये गुर्वंगनागमे
tāni putrānpaśūnghnaṃti teṣāṃ mithyābhiśaṃsinām | brahmahatyā surāpāne steye gurvaṃganāgame
മിഥ്യാരോപം ചെയ്യുന്നവരുടെ പുത്രന്മാരും പശുക്കളും നശിക്കുന്നു. അവർക്കു ബ്രഹ്മഹത്യ, സുരാപാനം, മോഷണം, ഗുരുപത്നീഗമനം മുതലായ മഹാപാപഫലം ലഭിക്കുന്നു.
Unspecified (contextual narrator/teacher voice within Svargakhaṇḍa)
Concept: False accusation/false witness invites catastrophic sin-fruit, destroying progeny and prosperity; it is aligned with the gravest transgressions.
Application: Never testify or forward claims without certainty; avoid ‘character assassination.’ In institutions, insist on due process and evidence; practice restitution if one has harmed another’s reputation.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A stark moral tableau: a man giving false testimony stands before a sacred fire, while shadow-forms of the four mahāpātakas loom behind him like dark silhouettes. In the background, his household—children and cattle—fade into mist, symbolizing the ruin that follows adharma.","primary_figures":["false witness (mithyābhisaṃśin)","shadow-forms of mahāpātakas (brahmahatyā, surāpāna, steya, guru-patnī-gamana)","a sacred fire (agni)","family and cattle (symbolic)"],"setting":"Village tribunal near a yajña-śālā; sacrificial fire pit, wooden posts, witnesses seated; ominous sky.","lighting_mood":"dramatic chiaroscuro","color_palette":["charcoal black","blood red","smoldering orange","dust brown","pale ash"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: intense moral allegory with a false witness before agni; looming dark personifications of the four mahāpātakas; gold leaf used sparingly as harsh sacred glare on the fire and dharma symbols; rich reds, deep greens, ornate borders heightening severity.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: narrative scene with symbolic shadows behind the witness; delicate yet tense expressions; muted earth palette with sharp orange fire; misty background where cattle and children fade, conveying consequence with poetic restraint.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, fierce stylized personifications of sins behind the witness; agni blazing; family/cattle rendered as fading motifs; strong red-yellow-black contrasts, temple-wall gravity.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical composition—central agni and dharma scales, the witness in the foreground; surrounding border of thorny creepers replacing usual florals to signal adharma; deep indigo ground with red/orange highlights, intricate patterning."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["sharp bell strikes","fire crackle","low thunder rumble","conch blast at cadence end"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: putrānpaśūn → putrān paśūn; paśūnghnanti → paśūn ghnanti; gurvaṃganāgame → guru-aṅganā-āgame (multiple tatpuruṣa components).
FAQs
It warns that false testimony and grave transgressions bring severe consequences, harming one’s family line (sons) and livelihood (cattle/wealth).
Brahmin-murder (brahmahatyā), drinking liquor (surāpāna), theft (steya), and sexual relations with the guru’s wife (gurvaṅganāgama).
They represent continuity and prosperity in traditional society—offspring for lineage and cattle for sustenance/wealth—indicating that such wrongdoing undermines both posterity and material stability.