Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 34
The Aśokasundarī–Nahuṣa Episode: Demon Stratagems, Protection by Merit, and Lineage Prophecy
पापिनश्चैव हुंडाद्या मोहनस्तंभनादिभिः । पीडयंति महापापा नानाभेदैर्बलाविलैः
pāpinaścaiva huṃḍādyā mohanastaṃbhanādibhiḥ | pīḍayaṃti mahāpāpā nānābhedairbalāvilaiḥ
گناہگار لوگ—جیسے ہُنڈ وغیرہ—وہ بڑے بدکار، موہن اور ستَمبھن وغیرہ جیسے اعمال کے ذریعے، زور اور فریب کے طرح طرح کے طریقوں سے (دوسروں کو) ستاتے ہیں۔
Pulastya (to Bhīṣma)
Concept: Adharmic people employ coercion and deceptive powers (moha, stambhana) to torment others; such methods are morally condemned and ultimately self-defeating within karmic order.
Application: Do not be seduced by manipulative ‘quick power’ tactics; respond with ethical firmness, prayer, and community protection rather than retaliation mirroring the same deception.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A band of sinister tormentors performs mohana and stambhana rites: one casts a net of dark mantra-smoke, another holds a talismanic yantra, while a victim appears momentarily frozen like a statue. Above them, the sky churns with ominous clouds, hinting that such tamasic power is unstable and doomed.","primary_figures":["Huṇḍas and other pāpinaḥ (tormentors)","a suffering victim","Pulastya (as narrator-sage, optional vignette)"],"setting":"A desolate crossroads outside a village boundary, with a broken shrine and scattered ritual implements (yantra plates, blackened lamps).","lighting_mood":"moonlit","color_palette":["indigo black","ashen white","blood red","dull bronze","sickly green"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: dramatic tableau with gold-leaf used sparingly as ironic ‘false splendor’ on yantra plates; central tormentor with exaggerated fierce eyes, holding a copper yantra; another raises a staff as the victim stiffens; ornate but dark palette, heavy reds and greens, with a thin gold border framing the moral warning.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: night scene with cool indigo wash; fine-line depiction of yantras and smoke-like mantras; the victim’s posture subtly rigid; distant hills and a pale moon; refined faces but with sharp, unsettling expressions for the tormentors.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, stylized fierce faces for the tormentors; ritual objects clearly iconographic; background in flat color fields; strong red/yellow/green contrasts with a dominant dark blue night band.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: atypical ‘warning’ pichwai—border of thorny vines and wilted lotuses; central dark ritual scene contrasted with a small corner vignette of a bright lotus/śaṅkha-cakra motif indicating dharma’s eventual victory; deep blues and muted gold."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["drum pulse (mridang-like, low)","wind gusts","crackling fire","sudden silence between lines"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: पापिनश्चैव = पापिनः + च + एव; हुंडाद्या = हुंड + आद्याः; मोहनस्तंभनादिभिः = मोहनस्तम्भनादिभिः; पीडयंति = पीडयन्ति (अनुस्वार/य-लोप लेखभेद); नानाभेदैर्बलाविलैः = नानाभेदैः + बलाविलैः
FAQs
They denote acts that confuse or delude others (mohana) and acts that render others helpless or immobilized (stambhana), i.e., coercive tactics that overpower a person’s agency.
“Huṇḍa/ Huṇa” is used in Purāṇic literature for groups seen as foreign or disruptive; here they stand as an example of sinful, oppressive actors among “others” (ādyāḥ).
It condemns oppression carried out through force and deceptive manipulation, presenting such conduct as a hallmark of “great sinners” and socially destructive adharma.