Shloka 23
Umā’s Austerity, Kauśikī’s Manifestation, and Skanda’s Birth Leading to Tāraka’s Defeat
तवापि दुष्टसंपर्कात्संक्रांतं सर्वमेव हि । व्यालेभ्योनेकजिह्वत्वं भस्मनोऽस्नेहवृत्तिता
tavāpi duṣṭasaṃparkātsaṃkrāṃtaṃ sarvameva hi | vyālebhyonekajihvatvaṃ bhasmano'snehavṛttitā
దుష్టసంగం వల్ల ఇవన్నీ నీలోకూ సంక్రమించాయి—సర్పాల నుంచి అనేకజిహ్వత్వం, భస్మం నుంచి స్నేహరహితమైన రూక్ష స్వభావం।
Unspecified (context needed from surrounding verses; likely a didactic speaker within a dialogue)
Concept: Association transmits qualities: contact with the wicked infects one with their traits—many-tongued duplicity like serpents, and loveless dryness like ashes.
Application: Audit your company and media diet; reduce environments that reward gossip and cynicism; replace with satsanga, kīrtana, and service that re-oils the heart with compassion.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A figure stands at a crossroads: on one side, shadowy companions whisper with forked, serpent-like tongues multiplying into many mouths; on the other, a pale ash field blows dry dust across the heart. The central figure’s aura visibly changes—speech becomes fragmented and the skin tone turns ashen—showing how wicked association transmits traits.","primary_figures":["a central human figure (symbolic)","serpents (vyāla)","shadowy wicked companions (durjana)","ashes personified (symbolic)"],"setting":"Twilight near a cremation-ground edge blending into a forest path—one route toward dark company, another toward cleansing light in the distance.","lighting_mood":"moonlit","color_palette":["charcoal gray","ash white","poison green","dull copper","deep blue"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: allegorical moral scene with central figure, serpents with multiple tongues curling in ornamental patterns, ash field rendered with textured silver-white; gold leaf used to outline the protective boundary of dharma, rich red-green borders, gem-like highlights on symbolic elements.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: narrative allegory at twilight with delicate shading, serpents subtly integrated into whispering figures, ash dust painted as fine stippling, cool blues and grays with a faint warm path of redemption in the distance.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines, stylized serpents and multiple tongues as repeating motifs, flat ash-white ground, dramatic contrast of dark companions vs. a lighter dharmic path, temple-wall moral didacticism.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: ornate border of vines; central allegory with repeating serpent-tongue motifs as decorative pattern, ash swirls like floral dust, deep blue background with gold accents; include a small luminous lotus motif indicating the possibility of returning to devotion."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["low wind","crackling embers","distant owl","single bell toll"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: तवापि = तव + अपि. दुष्टसंपर्कात्संक्रांतं = दुष्टसंपर्कात् + संक्रान्तम्. सर्वमेव = सर्वम् + एव. व्यालेभ्योनेकजिह्वत्वं = व्यालेभ्यः + अनेकजिह्वत्वम्. भस्मनोऽस्नेहवृत्तिता = भस्मनः + अस्नेहवृत्तिता.
FAQs
It warns that association (saṃparka) powerfully shapes one’s nature; contact with harmful people can transmit harmful traits, so one should seek good company (satsanga).
They are illustrative examples: serpents are stereotypically “many-tongued,” and ashes are “without unctuousness.” The verse uses these images to show how qualities are understood as arising from contact or origin.
Even in the Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa’s encyclopedic setting, the Purana frequently embeds moral instruction—here emphasizing discernment in relationships as a foundation for dharma and spiritual progress.