Shloka 6
The Episode of Śivaśarmā: Testing Somaśarmā through Service and Truth
मायां कृत्वा महाप्राज्ञो भार्यया सह तं सुतम् । कुष्ठरोगातुरो भूत्वा तस्य भार्या च तादृशी
māyāṃ kṛtvā mahāprājño bhāryayā saha taṃ sutam | kuṣṭharogāturo bhūtvā tasya bhāryā ca tādṛśī
మాయను ఆశ్రయించి ఆ మహాప్రాజ్ఞుడు భార్యతో కలిసి ఆ కుమారుని సృష్టించాడు. అనంతరం అతడు కుష్ఠరోగంతో బాధపడగా, అతని భార్య కూడా అలాగే కుష్ఠపీడితురాలైంది.
Unspecified in the provided excerpt (context needed to attribute to Pulastya–Bhīṣma or another dialogue frame).
Concept: Māyā-driven acts and adharma rebound as embodied suffering; bodily disease becomes a narrative mirror for inner distortion.
Application: Avoid manipulative ‘ends-justify-means’ choices; treat suffering as a prompt for repentance, truthfulness, and seeking sāttvika remedies (prāyaścitta, bhakti).
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A dim courtyard where a ‘greatly wise’ figure and his wife stand under a heavy, unnatural haze—māyā visualized as wavering air and shadowy veils. Their bodies show pale, mottled leprosy marks, while a newly ‘made’ son stands between them, the atmosphere thick with karmic dread.","primary_figures":["a mahāprājña couple (unnamed)","the son fashioned by māyā"],"setting":"village courtyard or hermitage threshold, with a faintly visible sacrificial platform in the background to contrast dharma and deception","lighting_mood":"storm-muted twilight","color_palette":["ash gray","saffron-ochre","dull ivory","bruise purple","smoky teal"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a somber domestic-hermitage scene with the afflicted couple and the māyā-born son, gold leaf used sparingly as a thin halo-like shimmer around the māyā haze (not sanctifying, but indicating supernatural agency), rich maroons and deep greens in textiles, ornate borders, traditional South Indian architectural pillars.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: delicate linework showing mottled skin and downcast eyes, a cool dusk sky over a small hermitage courtyard, subtle mist ribbons representing māyā, restrained palette with soft purples and slate blues, refined facial features conveying shame and sorrow.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines, stylized afflicted bodies with patterned discoloration, māyā as swirling decorative cloud motifs, temple-wall aesthetic with earthy reds/yellows/greens, large expressive eyes conveying fear and regret.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: narrative panel with floral borders and lotus motifs turned subdued, the māyā haze rendered as patterned textile waves, deep indigo background with muted gold accents, figures centered with symmetrical framing, devotional aesthetic inverted to convey moral caution."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple bell","distant wind","soft drum (mridangam) pulses","brief silence after key words"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: कुष्ठरोगातुरः = कुष्ठरोग + आतुरः (समास/पदसंयोग); अन्यत्र सन्धि-भङ्गः न आवश्यकः।
FAQs
It describes the use of māyā (illusion or contrivance) leading into a narrative turn where a man becomes afflicted with leprosy, and his wife likewise becomes similarly afflicted—often a setup for a moral or karmic consequence in the surrounding story.
On its own it is primarily narrative, but it commonly functions as a causal link in Purāṇic storytelling—suggesting that deceptive acts (māyā) and ensuing suffering are connected within a broader ethical/karmic framework presented in adjacent verses.
The speaker cannot be confirmed from this single verse alone. In the Padma Purāṇa, many sections are framed as dialogues (often Pulastya–Bhīṣma in several khaṇḍas), but the exact attribution requires the surrounding verses or the edition’s chapter header.