Shloka 24
The Lakṣmī–Nārāyaṇa Vow Narrative
Puṣya Thursday Observance and the Ethics of Fortune
कदाचिद्वैश्यकुलजा पत्या मृत्योर्वशं गता । समानेतुं ततस्तौ तु विहिताखिलघातकौ
kadācidvaiśyakulajā patyā mṛtyorvaśaṃ gatā | samānetuṃ tatastau tu vihitākhilaghātakau
ఒకప్పుడు వైశ్య కులంలో జన్మించిన స్త్రీ తన భర్తతో కలిసి మరణించింది. అప్పుడు సర్వ ప్రాణులను హింసించే యమదూతలు వారిని తీసుకురావడానికి వచ్చారు.
Unspecified narrator (contextual speaker not provided in the excerpt)
Concept: Fear of death can drive adharma; attempts to reverse fate through हिंसा (violence) deepen bondage and invite karmic consequence.
Application: In crisis, avoid unethical shortcuts; choose dharmic means—prayer, charity, vrata, and seeking wise counsel—over harm to others.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A merchant-family couple stands at the edge of a darkened threshold as the shadow of Death falls across their home; their faces show panic and resolve. Around them, ominous signs—spilled water, extinguished lamp, circling crows—hint at the karmic weight of violent acts committed in desperation to ‘bring back’ what is slipping away.","primary_figures":["vaiśya woman","vaiśya husband","personified Mṛtyu (shadowy presence)"],"setting":"tense domestic courtyard with ritual items disturbed, a dim doorway suggesting the passage to the other world","lighting_mood":"moonlit","color_palette":["charcoal black","blood maroon","cold silver","dust brown","pale ochre"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: dramatic domestic scene with a looming dark figure of Mṛtyu at the edge, the couple in anxious posture; gold leaf used sparingly to contrast the extinguished lamp and broken auspiciousness, rich reds and blacks, ornate border emphasizing moral gravity, traditional iconographic stylization of Death’s attendants hinted in the background.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: night courtyard with cool moonlight, delicate depiction of fear on faces; symbolic details like a toppled lamp and scattered flowers; distant trees and a thin crescent moon, restrained palette with sharp emotional focus.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, intense eyes, Mṛtyu as a dark stylized figure with red accents; the couple rendered in warm tones against a deep background, mural-like symbolism (crows, broken pot) arranged rhythmically.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: atypical darker pichwai—ornate border of withered lotuses and thorny vines; central couple under a deep indigo sky, gold used as stark highlights; peacocks absent, replaced by crows, creating a moral-contrast tableau."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["howling wind","distant thunder","crows","sudden silence","low drum"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: कदाचिद्वैश्यकुलजा → कदाचित् + वैश्यकुलजा; मृत्योर्वशं → मृत्योः + वशम्
FAQs
It describes a couple who, after falling under the power of Death, attempt to reverse that fate and in the process commit acts of violence.
It implies that desperation can lead to grave wrongdoing—here, escalating to “every kind of killing”—highlighting the karmic and moral danger of violent means.
No. In this isolated verse, the focus is narrative and ethical (death, human action, violence), without explicit bhakti doctrine or tīrtha geography.