Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 25
The Birth of King Pṛthu: Vena’s Fall, the Sages’ Churning, and Earth’s Surrender
वेदाध्यायं विना लोके प्रावर्तंत तदा जनाः । निःस्वाध्यायवषट्काराः प्रजास्तस्मिन्प्रजापतौ
vedādhyāyaṃ vinā loke prāvartaṃta tadā janāḥ | niḥsvādhyāyavaṣaṭkārāḥ prajāstasminprajāpatau
تب دنیا کے لوگ وید کے مطالعہ کے بغیر ہی جینے لگے؛ اُس پرجاپتی کے عہد میں رعایا سْوادھیائے سے محروم اور یَجْیَ میں کہے جانے والے “وشٹ” کے نعرے سے بھی خالی ہو گئی۔
Unspecified narrator (contextual narration within Bhūmi-khaṇḍa; explicit dialogue-speaker not stated in the provided verse).
Concept: Svādhyāya (self-recitation/study) and yajña-language sustain dharma; when they vanish, society loses its spiritual memory and discipline.
Application: Keep a daily minimum: recite a small portion of scripture/mantra, maintain a simple offering practice, and preserve sacred speech (truthful, mantra-like discipline) to prevent gradual erosion of values.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A village and court once resonant with chanting now lie quiet: palm-leaf manuscripts gather dust, and the yajña-altar stands cold. The air feels emptied of ‘vaṣaṭ’—priests’ lips closed, students absent, and a gray hush settling over the world.","primary_figures":["silent brāhmaṇa teachers","absent/ghosted Veda students (brahmacārins)","villagers"],"setting":"abandoned pāṭhaśālā beside a neglected yajña-vedi; dust motes over unused ladles and kuśa","lighting_mood":"overcast, muted daylight","color_palette":["dusty beige","stone gray","pale saffron","dull copper","washed-out white"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a pāṭhaśālā with closed palm-leaf manuscripts and a cold yajña-kuṇḍa; brāhmaṇas seated in silence, ladles and kuśa arranged but unused; gold leaf used sparingly to highlight what is missing—faint aura around the Veda; rich architectural borders, traditional ornamentation subdued.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: quiet courtyard with a teacher and empty student mats; delicate lines, soft hills in the distance; a small extinguished fire-altar; cool restrained palette conveying absence and loss.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: stylized figures with large eyes, a square altar without flame, manuscripts stacked; bold outlines and earthy pigments; decorative border motifs of broken sound-waves to symbolize missing vaṣaṭ.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: symbolic ‘silenced yajña’—a central empty lotus where mantra should bloom, surrounded by faded floral borders; peacocks with lowered tails; deep blue background with muted gold patterns, emphasizing the absence of sacred sound."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["wind through empty hall","distant crows","no bells","silence between lines"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: वेदाध्यायं = वेद + अध्यायम्; प्रावर्तंत = प्रावर्तन्त (लङ् 3pl); प्रजास्तस्मिन्प्रजापतौ = प्रजाः + तस्मिन् + प्रजापतौ
FAQs
It depicts a decline where people live without Vedic study (vedādhyāya) and without svādhyāya and yajña markers like the vaṣaṭ exclamation.
“Vaṣaṭ” is a ritual exclamation used in Vedic sacrifice; being “without vaṣaṭ” implies the absence or breakdown of formal yajña performance.
It implies that maintaining dharma depends on disciplined learning/recitation of sacred knowledge (svādhyāya) and the sustaining rituals that embody it (yajña).