Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 70
The Deeds of Sukalā (Vena Episode): Husband as Tīrtha & Pativratā-Dharma
भर्तुः प्रसादात्सर्वं च लभते नात्र संशयः । विद्यमाने यदा कांते अन्यं धर्मं करोति या
bhartuḥ prasādātsarvaṃ ca labhate nātra saṃśayaḥ | vidyamāne yadā kāṃte anyaṃ dharmaṃ karoti yā
شوہر کی عنایت سے وہ سب کچھ پا لیتی ہے—اس میں کوئی شک نہیں۔ مگر جب محبوب شوہر زندہ ہو، اگر کوئی عورت دوسرا ‘دھرم’ اختیار کرے (وفاداری کے خلاف دوسرا سہارا لے)…
Unspecified (context needed; likely a didactic narrator within a dialogue tradition)
Concept: Pativratā/household fidelity is presented as a decisive source of auspicious attainment; deviation while the husband lives is condemned as 'another dharma' (i.e., adharma).
Application: Translate the principle into modern ethics: keep commitments, avoid betrayal, and align spiritual practice with integrity; let devotion deepen, not replace, responsibility to family and vows.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Inside a lamp-lit household shrine room, a woman offers flowers with folded hands while her husband sits nearby, calm and protective; a gentle aura suggests 'prasāda' flowing from harmony. In the shadowed background, a faint, blurred silhouette symbolizes the temptation of 'another path,' kept outside the threshold by the strength of vows.","primary_figures":["husband (kānta)","wife (pativratā)","a household Viṣṇu icon or śālagrāma (optional)"],"setting":"Gṛha-mandira (home shrine) with oil lamps, tulasi pot implied but not central, offering plate, simple domestic architecture","lighting_mood":"temple lamp-lit","color_palette":["warm amber","deep maroon","brass gold","smoke gray","cream white"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: domestic shrine scene with husband and wife before a small Viṣṇu/śālagrāma altar; gold leaf on lamp halos and altar arch; rich maroons and greens; the wife’s posture conveys fidelity and serenity; ornate border with lotus and conch motifs; subtle shadow motif outside the doorway indicating 'other dharma' as a warning.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate interior with delicate lines, soft lamp glow, and refined expressions; the couple seated near a small altar; gentle moral tension shown through composition—bright interior vs dim exterior corridor; muted warm palette with fine textile patterns.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold-outlined couple in iconic poses before a stylized altar; strong reds/yellows/greens; large expressive eyes; lamp flames as rhythmic motifs; exterior temptation rendered as a dark simplified form beyond the threshold.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: symmetrical household shrine composition with ornate floral borders; central altar with lotus motifs; peacocks and vines in the border; deep indigo background with gold highlights; the theme of vows shown through repeated knot/garland patterns."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["single temple bell","low tanpura drone","quiet indoor silence","soft footfall","distant conch"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: प्रसादात् + सर्वम् → प्रसादात्सर्वम्. न + अत्र → नात्र. Locative absolute: विद्यमाने कांते.
FAQs
It praises the spiritual and worldly efficacy of honoring one’s husband, and it begins a warning that adopting an alternative conduct while the husband is alive is a deviation from the expected marital dharma.
In this dharma-śāstric framing, the husband is treated as the principal support of household life; the verse asserts that harmony and devoted conduct within marriage are seen as a source of welfare and success.
Literally “another dharma/another course of conduct.” In context it commonly implies turning away from fidelity—i.e., pursuing another relationship or a contrary vow—though the sentence is incomplete and the next verse(s) typically supply the consequence.