Shloka 144
Puṣkara Mahatmya: Brahmā’s Lotus-Tīrtha, Sacrifice, Initiation, and Kṣetra-Dharma
रौरवं स प्रयात्याशु प्रणीतो यमकिंकरैः । लोकयात्रावितंडश्च क्षुद्रं कर्म करोति यः
rauravaṃ sa prayātyāśu praṇīto yamakiṃkaraiḥ | lokayātrāvitaṃḍaśca kṣudraṃ karma karoti yaḥ
அற்பச் செயல்களில் மூழ்கி, மக்களின் இயல்பான வாழ்வோட்டத்தில் தலையிட்டு தடையிடும் கலகக்காரனை யமனின் தூதர்கள் விரைவில் பிடித்து ரௌரவ நரகத்துக்கு அழைத்துச் செல்கின்றனர்.
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within the Adhyāya)
Concept: Socially obstructive meddling and petty harmful action (lokayātrā-vitanda) is adharma that draws Yama’s punishment; ethics includes non-interference with others’ rightful life-course.
Application: Avoid needless obstruction—bureaucratic cruelty, gossip-driven interference, and sabotaging others’ work; cultivate helpfulness and restraint in speech and action.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Yama’s attendants—dark, iron-clad figures with nooses—seize a quarrelsome meddler whose hands clutch petty documents and broken tools, symbols of obstructing others’ work. The path descends into Raurava: a cavernous, red-lit abyss with jagged rocks and echoing cries, where the air itself seems to burn with remorse and fear.","primary_figures":["Yama’s attendants (Yamakiṅkaras)","the meddler/offender","Yama (implied, distant throne silhouette)"],"setting":"A threshold between the human world’s dusty street and a descending naraka ravine labeled Raurava in symbolic script.","lighting_mood":"thunderous gloom","color_palette":["blood red","charcoal black","rust brown","sulfur yellow","iron gray"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: dramatic naraka scene with gold leaf used sparingly as harsh highlights on weapons and nooses, Yamakiṅkaras in fierce poses, the offender dragged toward a red cavern, ornate border contrasting with grim subject, high-detail jewelry on attendants rendered as menacing metalwork.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: stylized yet refined hellscape with layered rocky forms, controlled palette of reds and grays, expressive faces showing fear and sternness, fine linework for nooses and chains, a distant dark throne hinting at Yama.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines and intense red background, Yamakiṅkaras with exaggerated eyes and dynamic limbs, flat sulfur-yellow highlights, the offender shown in contorted posture, naraka motifs (spikes, flames) in rhythmic patterns.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: symbolic moral tableau—central dark figures with nooses, decorative border of thorny vines replacing lotuses, deep red ground with gold accents, stylized flames and echoing script motifs, a cautionary pichwai-like narrative panel format."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["thunder","chain clinks","distant cries","heavy drum (mridangam/pakhawaj)"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: प्रयात्याशु = प्रयाति + आशु; लोकयात्रावितंडश्च = लोकयात्रावितण्डः + च
FAQs
Raurava is described as a hell-state (naraka) to which a person is taken by Yama’s attendants as a consequence of harmful conduct.
The verse condemns petty, mean actions and being a quarrelsome meddler who obstructs the normal course of people’s lives (loka-yātrā).
Do not hinder others’ rightful daily life and livelihood through needless disputes or interference; such harassment is treated as a serious moral failing with grave karmic consequences.