Shloka 68

Prahlada's Instructions to Bali — Prahlada’s Instructions to Bali on Vishnu Worship, Monthly Gifts, and Building Hari’s Temple

Devanagari script

आपत्तौ पतितानां येषां वृद्धा न सन्ति शास्तारः ते शोच्या बनधूनां जीवन्तो ऽपीह मृततुल्याः

Transliteration

āpattau patitānāṃ yeṣāṃ vṛddhā na santi śāstāraḥ te śocyā banadhūnāṃ jīvanto 'pīha mṛtatulyāḥ

Translation

ആപത്തിൽ വീണവരിൽ, ഉപദേശകരായി മുതിർന്നവർ ഇല്ലാത്തവർ ബന്ധുക്കൾക്കു കരുണാജനകരാണ്; അവർ ഇവിടെ ജീവിച്ചിരുന്നാലും മരിച്ചവരെപ്പോലെ തന്നെയാണ്।

Speakers

• Didactic narrator/teacher voice addressing the listener (frame not explicit in excerpt).

Key Themes

• Elders as śāstṛ (guiding authority)
• Social vulnerability without guidance
• Adversity as test of dharmic support systems
• Life without counsel equated to spiritual/social death

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What does “living yet like the dead” mean in dharma literature?

It is a moral and practical metaphor: without guidance, one cannot choose rightly, protect oneself, or sustain dharmic life. Such a person is ‘alive’ biologically but ‘dead’ in agency, direction, and social-spiritual support.

Why are elders called “śāstāraḥ” (instructors/disciplinarians)?

Śāstṛ implies not only affectionate advice but authoritative instruction that shapes conduct. The verse frames elders as living embodiments of śāstra—experienced interpreters of right action in complex situations.

How does this fit the Vāmana Purāṇa’s broader concerns?

Even where the Vāmana Purāṇa emphasizes sacred geography and tīrtha practice, it repeatedly anchors pilgrimage and merit in dharmic comportment. This passage supplies the ethical infrastructure: guidance, humility, and adherence to wise counsel as prerequisites for meaningful religious life.