Shloka 78
Determination of the Householder’s Dharma
Dāna: Types, Recipients, Timing, and Fruits
इति देवमनादिमेकमीशं गृहधर्मेण समर्चयेदजस्रम् । समतीत्य स सर्वभूतयोनिं प्रकृतिं याति परं न याति जन्म
iti devamanādimekamīśaṃ gṛhadharmeṇa samarcayedajasram | samatītya sa sarvabhūtayoniṃ prakṛtiṃ yāti paraṃ na yāti janma
ഇങ്ങനെ ഗൃഹധർമ്മം മുഖേന അനാദിയായ ഏക ഈശ്വരദേവനെ നിരന്തരം ആരാധിക്കണം. അവൻ സർവ്വഭൂതയോനിയായ പ്രകൃതിയെ അതിക്രമിച്ച് പരമപദം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു; പിന്നെ ജന്മം സ്വീകരിക്കുകയില്ല.
Unspecified narrator/speaker (context not provided for dialogue attribution)
Concept: Household duties, when offered as continuous worship to the beginningless one Lord, become a means to transcend prakṛti and attain the Supreme beyond rebirth.
Application: Transform routine responsibilities into worship: dedicate work, family care, and ethical conduct to the Lord; maintain daily remembrance (smaraṇa) alongside duty.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A humble household altar glows with a steady lamp as a devotee offers daily duties like flowers—symbolic scenes of caring for family, feeding guests, and honoring elders dissolve into a vision of the beginningless Lord. Above, the cosmic veil of prakṛti—woven of the three guṇas—parts like a curtain, revealing the radiant Supreme Abode where rebirth cannot reach.","primary_figures":["Vishnu (anādi-eka-īśa)","gṛhastha devotee","personified Prakṛti (as guṇa-weave, optional allegory)"],"setting":"domestic shrine transitioning into a cosmic vista; lotus motifs bridging home and transcendence","lighting_mood":"divine radiance","color_palette":["sapphire blue","lotus pink","gold leaf","pearl white","deep emerald"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: Vishnu enthroned on a lotus with conch-disc-mace-lotus, lavish gold leaf aura; below, a small gṛhastha shrine with lamp and offerings; a shimmering guṇa-curtain parting; rich reds/greens, gem-studded ornaments, ornate arch framing the ‘paramaṃ padam’.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate home worship scene blending into a celestial horizon; delicate clouds and lotus pools; Vishnu’s form luminous yet gentle; fine textile patterns suggesting guṇas; cool blues and soft pinks with refined facial serenity.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines, saturated natural pigments; Vishnu’s large expressive eyes and symmetrical posture; stylized guṇa-pattern backdrop; domestic lamp and offerings rendered iconically; temple-wall grandeur meeting household simplicity.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: Krishna/Vishnu-centered composition with abundant lotus borders, peacocks and floral arabesques; deep blue field with gold highlights; the devotee’s household acts depicted in small vignettes around the central deity, culminating in a radiant ‘no-rebirth’ celestial mandala."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"devotional","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"serene","sound_elements":["temple bells","conch shell (soft, distant)","lamp crackle","deep silence after cadence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: देवम्+अनादिम्+एकम्+ईशम् → देवमनादिमेकमीशम्; समर्चयेत्+अजस्रम् → समर्चयेदजस्रम्; सर्वभूतयोनिम् (समासपदम्); न+याति → न याति (पदच्छेदः)
FAQs
It teaches that everyday household duties, when performed as worship of the one beginningless Lord, become a continuous spiritual practice that can culminate in liberation.
Prakṛti is described as the material/primordial basis from which embodied existence arises; transcending it implies going beyond material conditioning and the cycle of embodied becoming.
It elevates disciplined, dutiful living—performed with devotion and God-centered intent—showing that ethical responsibility and spiritual realization are not opposed.