Shloka 62
Karma, Non-Violence, Tīrtha & Gaṅgā Merit, Vaiṣṇava Protection, Śālagrāma Worship, and Ekādaśī as Deliverance
स्नात्वा दत्त्वा च यत्किंचिन्नैव मज्जति दुर्गतौ । नैवाक्रामंति दातारो दारुणं रौरवं पथम् । इहलोके न जायंते कुले धनविवर्जिते
snātvā dattvā ca yatkiṃcinnaiva majjati durgatau | naivākrāmaṃti dātāro dāruṇaṃ rauravaṃ patham | ihaloke na jāyaṃte kule dhanavivarjite
స్నానం చేసి, యథాశక్తి ఏదైనా దానం చేసినవాడు దుర్గతిలో మునగడు. దాతలు రౌరవ నరకానికి తీసుకెళ్లే భయంకర మార్గాన్ని తొక్కరు; ఈ లోకంలోనూ ధనహీన కులంలో జన్మించరు।
Unspecified (context-dependent within Svarga-khaṇḍa 31)
Concept: Snāna + dāna, even ‘whatever one can’ (yat kiñcit), prevents durgati and naraka; generosity also shapes one’s worldly circumstances (wealthy birth).
Application: Do not postpone generosity for ‘perfect capacity’; give proportionately and regularly after grounding yourself (cleanliness, prayer), and let giving be a daily antidote to anxiety and misfortune.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A split-scene composition: on one side, a serene donor after bathing offers simple gifts with folded hands; on the other, the terrifying road to Raurava fades away like a dissolving nightmare—jagged rocks, smoky red haze, and shadowy wardens—kept at bay by a luminous boundary of merit. Above, a subtle scale of justice suggests karmic order without sensational gore.","primary_figures":["donor (after snāna)","recipient (poor traveler or brāhmaṇa)","shadowy naraka-wardens (distant)"],"setting":"riverbank or bathing ghat transitioning into a symbolic ‘path’ that dissolves into darkness, emphasizing avoidance rather than depiction","lighting_mood":"divine radiance","color_palette":["river jade","lamp gold","ash gray","smoke red","ivory white"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: donor at a ghat with gold leaf highlights on water ripples and offering vessels, a radiant protective aura forming a boundary, distant Raurava path rendered as subdued smoky reds and blacks, rich ornamental borders, devotional symmetry emphasizing protection through dāna.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: gentle riverbank scene with delicate foliage, donor giving alms, the ‘Raurava path’ suggested as a faint, receding dark trail in the corner, soft atmospheric perspective, cool greens and grays with a warm golden focal glow.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, donor and recipient in stylized poses, a symbolic dark corridor labeled by visual cues (serpentine rocks, red haze) kept outside a luminous mandala boundary, saturated pigments and temple-wall composition.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: central auspicious giving scene framed by lotus borders, the avoided hell-path abstracted into decorative dark motifs at the margins, deep blues and golds, intricate floral patterns emphasizing prosperity and protection."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"devotional","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["flowing water","single bell strikes","low drum pulse","silence after ‘rauravam’"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: यत्किंचिन्नैव = यत्किञ्चित् + न + एव; नैवाक्रामंति = न + एव + आक्रामन्ति; धनविवर्जिते = धन + विवर्जिते (compound).
FAQs
It recommends ritual purity through bathing (snāna) combined with charitable giving (dāna), even if the gift is small—“whatever one can.”
Raurava is named as a hellish destination; the verse states that donors do not have to tread that dreadful path, implying charity as a protection from severe post-mortem suffering.
Generosity, joined with personal discipline and purity, is presented as a powerful ethical act that yields both spiritual safety (avoiding naraka) and worldly auspiciousness (better birth and prosperity).