Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 45
Dialogue of Gobhila and Padmāvatī: Daitya Obstruction vs. the Power of Pativratā Dharma
भवती पुंश्चली नाम यया त्यक्तः स्वकः पतिः । पृथक्छय्या यदा नारी तदा सा पुंश्चली मता
bhavatī puṃścalī nāma yayā tyaktaḥ svakaḥ patiḥ | pṛthakchayyā yadā nārī tadā sā puṃścalī matā
جس عورت نے اپنے ہی شوہر کو ترک کیا ہو وہ ‘پُنشچلی’ کہلاتی ہے؛ اور جب کوئی عورت شوہر سے الگ بستر پر سوئے تو وہ بھی ‘پُنشچلی’ مانی جاتی ہے۔
Unspecified (context-dependent; likely within a didactic dialogue)
Concept: A normative definition is given: abandoning one’s husband or living separately is labeled as sexual/marital transgression.
Application: Treat commitments seriously; if separation occurs, handle it with honesty, responsibility, and non-harm rather than secrecy or exploitation.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A didactic moment freezes into a tableau: the admonisher recites a harsh definition like a legal pronouncement, while the woman stands slightly apart, visually echoing the ‘separate bed’ motif. The composition emphasizes distance—space between two figures becomes the symbol of broken dharma.","primary_figures":["Dharma-admonisher (sage/elder)","Woman standing apart"],"setting":"Simple domestic threshold suggested within a forest hermitage—mat, low cot, and a doorway—blending household imagery with ascetic surroundings.","lighting_mood":"lamp-lit austerity","color_palette":["warm amber","mud brown","indigo","dull gold","pale linen"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: hermitage interior with a low cot and a visible separation between figures, admonisher delivering a dharma-definition, gold leaf on borders and minimal jewelry, rich earthy reds/greens, iconographic clarity like a moral panel.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate hermitage scene with delicate textiles and a small cot, the woman positioned apart to signify ‘pṛthak-śayyā’, soft shading, refined faces, gentle but stern didactic mood, muted mountain palette.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, simplified hermitage props (cot, doorway), the admonisher’s gesture of instruction, the woman placed at a distance, red-yellow-green palette with dark indigo background, didactic temple-wall feel.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: symbolic domestic vignette framed by floral borders, stylized cot and threshold, deep blue ground with gold accents, figures arranged to emphasize separation, decorative motifs (lotus/vines) contrasting with stern moral content."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"authoritative","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low drone (tanpura)","soft lamp crackle","night insects","measured pauses like legal clauses"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: पृथक्छय्या = पृथक् + शय्या (अव्ययीभाव-समास/सन्धि); अन्यत्र स्पष्टपदानि।
FAQs
It defines ‘puṃścalī’ as a woman who abandons her own husband, and it further states that a woman who maintains a separate bed from her husband is also considered ‘puṃścalī’ in this passage.
It is primarily ethical/social in focus, presenting a normative judgment about marital conduct rather than a doctrinal point about devotion or metaphysics.
The verse upholds marital fidelity and conjugal unity as standards of conduct and treats abandonment or deliberate separation (symbolized by separate sleeping) as blameworthy.