Shloka 5
Rules of Edible and Inedible Foods
चक्रोपजीवि रजक तस्करध्वजिनां तथा । गांधर्वलोहकारान्नं मृतकान्नं विवर्जयेत्
cakropajīvi rajaka taskaradhvajināṃ tathā | gāṃdharvalohakārānnaṃ mṛtakānnaṃ vivarjayet
พึงเว้นอาหารจากผู้เลี้ยงชีพด้วยงานล้อ/จักร จากคนซักผ้า จากโจร และจากผู้ถือธง (ทหาร); รวมทั้งอาหารจากนักขับร้อง/นักแสดง จากช่างโลหะ และอาหารที่เกี่ยวข้องกับผู้ตายด้วย
Not explicitly identified in the provided excerpt (context needed from surrounding verses of Svarga-khaṇḍa 56).
Concept: The moral/occupational context of a gift affects the receiver’s purity; food linked to violence, theft, death-impurity, or morally ambiguous livelihoods is to be refused.
Application: Avoid dependence on unethical income streams; when accepting hospitality, consider the ethical climate and emotional residue (grief, violence, deceit) surrounding the meal; keep one’s worship days especially guarded.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A village crossroads near an āśrama: artisans and performers—washerman by the river, metalworker at a glowing forge, a singer with vīṇā, a soldier with banner—offer food to a fasting devotee. In the background, a funeral procession passes, and the devotee steps back, hands folded, choosing to keep ritual purity intact.","primary_figures":["vrata-observant devotee","washerman (rajaka)","metalworker (lohākāra)","gandharva-like performer/singer","soldier/standard-bearer","funeral attendants (mṛtaka context)"],"setting":"Edge of forest settlement with riverbank washing stones, a small forge, and a path leading to cremation ground in the distance.","lighting_mood":"forest dappled","color_palette":["smoke gray","river blue","iron black","marigold yellow","ash white"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: foreground devotee with folded hands refusing bowls; to one side a bright forge with gold leaf highlights, to the other a riverbank washerman; a banner-bearing soldier and musician appear as symbolic donors; distant funeral scene rendered with restraint; ornate borders, rich reds/greens, gold leaf radiance around the devotee’s calm face.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: lyrical landscape with a winding river and tiny forge; delicate figures offering food, the devotee stepping back; cool blues and soft grays, refined expressions, subtle depiction of funeral procession as a distant vignette.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: stylized occupational figures in clear compartments—forge, riverbank, performance—surrounding the central devotee; bold outlines, flat pigments, rhythmic composition, temple-wall symmetry.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: narrative tableau with ornate floral borders; symbolic donors arranged around a central shrine-like space where the devotee maintains purity; peacocks near the river, deep indigo ground with gold and white detailing, lotus motifs framing the moral lesson."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["river flow","forge hammering","distant funeral drum","temple bell punctuations","brief silence after 'mṛtakānna'"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: चक्रोपजीवि=चक्र-उपजीवि; तस्करध्वजिनाम्=तस्कर-ध्वजिनाम्; गांधर्वलोहकारान्नम्=गान्धर्व-लोहकार-अन्नम्; मृतकान्नम्=मृतक-अन्नम्.
FAQs
It lists categories of people/contexts from whom one should not accept food, presenting a rule of conduct (ācāra) tied to ritual and social notions of purity.
It refers to food associated with a death—commonly understood as food from a house in mourning or food offered/handled in the context of post-death rites—considered unsuitable for one observing purity rules.
The verse functions primarily as an ācāra rule about food-acceptance (annapratigraha) within a purity framework; it is not necessarily a universal ethical condemnation of those professions, but a prescriptive guideline for certain practitioners and contexts.