Shloka 28
The Glory of Tulasī and Dhātrī (Āmalakī): Protection from Yama and Attainment of Vaikuṇṭha
पुरा कश्चिद्द्विजश्रेष्ठो द्वापरेऽभून्महामुने । स्नात्वैकदा तुलस्यै स वनं दत्वा गृहं गतः
purā kaściddvijaśreṣṭho dvāpare'bhūnmahāmune | snātvaikadā tulasyai sa vanaṃ datvā gṛhaṃ gataḥ
โอ้มหามุนี กาลก่อนในยุคทวาปร มีพราหมณ์ผู้เลิศผู้หนึ่ง ครั้งหนึ่งหลังอาบน้ำชำระแล้ว เขาถวายป่าละเมาะแด่ทุลสี แล้วจึงกลับเรือนของตน
Unspecified narrator addressing a sage (mahāmune) (dialogue context not provided in the input)
Concept: Dāna offered in connection with Tulasi becomes enduring puṇya, especially when preceded by snāna (ritual purification).
Application: Create or support sacred green spaces (Tulasi planting, temple gardens, community groves) and pair charity with personal purification and intention-setting.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: forest
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"In the Dvāpara age, an austere brāhmaṇa returns from a river-bath, his wet hair tied, carrying a small water-pot and kusa grass. He stands before a newly dedicated tulasī-grove, offering it with folded palms, as the leaves shimmer like emerald flames—suggesting Viṣṇu’s unseen presence.","primary_figures":["brāhmaṇa donor","Tulasi-devī (subtle divine presence)","unseen Viṣṇu presence (suggested by aura/śaṅkha-cakra motifs)"],"setting":"Edge of a quiet village-forest where a tulasī-vana has been planted; a simple path, earthen lamps, and a distant riverbank indicating the prior snāna.","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["emerald green","lotus pink","saffron ochre","river-silver","gold leaf"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a Dvāpara-era brāhmaṇa with sacred thread and white dhoti offers a deed-like gesture of donation before a lush tulasī-grove; stylized tulasī plants with gold-leaf halos around leaves, śaṅkha-cakra motifs in the border, rich vermilion background, gem-studded ornaments on a subtle Tulasi-devī icon, temple-lamp accents and ornate arch framing.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: delicate brāhmaṇa figure returning from snāna, holding a kamaṇḍalu; a lyrical tulasī-grove with fine leaf detailing, soft mist over a nearby stream, cool greens and pale blues, gentle facial features, minimal architecture, poetic negative space conveying quiet merit.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines and natural pigments; brāhmaṇa in frontal-three-quarter pose offering añjali; tulasī plants rendered in rhythmic patterns with red-yellow-green palette; a faint Viṣṇu aura behind the grove, temple-wall aesthetic with ornamental creeper borders.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: tulasī-vana as a sacred garden filled with lotus motifs and floral borders; subtle Viṣṇu symbols (śaṅkha, cakra) woven into the pattern; peacocks perched near the grove, deep indigo background with gold highlights, devotional serenity emphasized."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["flowing water","morning birds","soft temple bells","rustling leaves"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: द्वापरेऽभूत् = द्वापरे + अभूत्; स्नात्वैकदा = स्नात्वा + एकदा.
FAQs
The verse frames devotion through a concrete act of dāna: offering land/trees (a vana) to Tulasī, a central sacred plant in Vaiṣṇava practice. It highlights reverence expressed through stewardship and gifting, not only ritual praise.
By locating the event in Dvāpara, the text signals an exemplary precedent from an earlier age, lending authority to the practice and setting up a moral-religious lesson through a remembered episode.
The implied ethic is that purity of conduct (bathing as a marker of readiness) should be followed by generosity and devotion—translating personal religious discipline into beneficent giving dedicated to the sacred.