Shloka 37
The Sin of Breaking Households: Citrā’s Past Karma and the Remedy of Hari’s Name and Meditation
सा चित्रा मरणं प्राप्ता स्वकर्मवशमागता । शासिता धर्मराजेन महादंडैः सुदुःखदैः
sā citrā maraṇaṃ prāptā svakarmavaśamāgatā | śāsitā dharmarājena mahādaṃḍaiḥ suduḥkhadaiḥ
นางจิตราได้ถึงความตาย เพราะถูกบีบคั้นด้วยกรรมของตนเอง และถูกธรรมราชลงโทษด้วยมหาทัณฑ์อันรุนแรง ก่อทุกข์แสนสาหัส
Narrator (contextual speaker not specified in the provided excerpt)
Concept: One’s death and after-death experience follow svakarma; Dharmarāja’s punishments are the maturation of one’s own deeds, not arbitrary cruelty.
Application: Audit actions daily (speech, sexuality, honesty, harm); adopt expiatory practices—charity, truthfulness, and especially Vaiṣṇava vratas—to redirect tendencies before they harden into fate.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"In Dharmarāja’s austere court, Citrā stands trembling as scribes of karma unroll a ledger of deeds. Yama, stern and impartial, gestures toward the instruments of chastisement—not in rage, but with the cold clarity of law—while shadows of suffering loom behind her.","primary_figures":["Citrā","Dharmarāja (Yama)","karma-scribes (Citragupta attendants)"],"setting":"Yama-loka tribunal with dark stone pillars, iron gates, and a central judgment dais; a karmic scroll or balance scale displayed.","lighting_mood":"temple lamp-lit","color_palette":["smoky charcoal","iron gray","deep maroon","ember orange","ashen white"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: Dharmarāja seated on a high throne with gold leaf halo and ornate crown, holding a danda; Citrā below with folded hands, fear in her eyes; Citragupta with a palm-leaf ledger; gold leaf highlights on throne, halo, and inscriptions; rich reds and greens in borders, dramatic contrast with dark background.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: refined courtroom scene with delicate lines; Yama’s stern face calm, not wrathful; Citrā small in scale to emphasize moral weight; cool shadow palette with controlled reds; architectural arches and patterned floor, subtle smoke-like gradients suggesting otherworldliness.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, stylized Yama with large eyes and commanding posture; attendants holding scrolls; rhythmic pillar patterns; dominant red/yellow/green with black and ochre shadows; mural-like symmetry conveying dharma’s inevitability.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical composition—central dharma-scale motif, lotus border turning into thorny vines near Citrā; Yama enthroned with ornamental frame; deep indigo ground with gold and vermilion detailing, intricate floral borders juxtaposed with austere justice imagery."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low drum","distant thunder","iron gate creak","conch shell (faint)","heavy silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: स्वकर्मवशमागता = स्वकर्मवशम् + आगता (म् + आ → मा).
FAQs
It emphasizes karmic causality: one’s deeds lead to corresponding consequences, administered under the moral order represented by Dharmarāja (Yama).
Dharmarāja is Yama, the lord of justice and the afterlife judge who dispenses results of actions according to dharma.
Personal responsibility: suffering or punishment is portrayed as arising from one’s own actions (svakarma), urging mindful conduct aligned with dharma.