Shloka 16
Adhyaya 43 — Portents of Death (Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇas) and the Yogin’s Response; Alarka Renounces Kingship
रक्तकृष्णाम्बरधरा गायन्ती हसती च यम् ।
दक्षिणाशान्नयेन्नारी स्वप्ने सोऽपि न जीवति ॥
raktakṛṣṇāmbaradharā gāyantī hasatī ca yam / dakṣiṇāśānnayennārī svapne so 'pi na jīvati
स्वप्ने या स्त्री रक्तकृष्णवस्त्रधारिणी, गायन्ती हसन्ती च, कञ्चिद् दक्षिणदिशं नयति—सोपि न जीवति; मृत्युः आसन्ना।
{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse depicts death as an unavoidable summons; its ethical use is to provoke wakefulness—live in a way that leaves no unfinished harm, debt, or neglected duty.
Ancillary omen-literature; not among the five defining Purāṇic topics.
The laughing, singing guide represents māyā’s seductive pull even at the threshold; red-black suggests rajas-tamas dominance and the terrifying/liminal aspect of transition toward Yama’s quarter.