Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 6
The Tale of Sukalā: Illusion, Desire, and the Testing of a Chaste Wife
within the Vena Cycle
क्रीडा बभाषे शृणु सत्यमेतं चरित्रभावं मम भर्त्तुरस्य । अहं प्रिये यस्य सदैव युक्ता यमिच्छते तं प्रतिसांत्वयामि
krīḍā babhāṣe śṛṇu satyametaṃ caritrabhāvaṃ mama bhartturasya | ahaṃ priye yasya sadaiva yuktā yamicchate taṃ pratisāṃtvayāmi
کریڑا نے کہا: “سنو—یہی سچ ہے: میرے شوہر کا چلن اور مزاج ایسا ہے کہ، اے پیاری، جس سے وہ ہمیشہ وابستہ رہتا ہے میں بھی اسی کے ساتھ وفادار رہتی ہوں؛ اور جسے وہ چاہے، میں اسے منا کر صلح و ملاپ کراتی ہوں۔”
Krīḍā
Concept: Misplaced loyalty can become adharma: serving desire rather than virtue corrodes integrity and agency.
Application: Set boundaries: do not enable harmful desires in relationships; align support with ethical principles and spiritual well-being.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Krīḍā speaks with lowered eyes, hands half-raised as if confessing, while the listener sits stunned. Behind them, a faint, symbolic tableau shows a man’s shifting gaze toward different figures, and Krīḍā’s shadow stretching toward each—visualizing her unsettling claim of appeasing whomever he desires.","primary_figures":["Krīḍā","Female listener/interlocutor","Husband (symbolic, background)"],"setting":"Private chamber with a curtained doorway; symbolic background vignette like a dream-panel","lighting_mood":"moonlit","color_palette":["charcoal black","cold silver","deep wine","dull gold","pale jasmine"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: dramatic confession scene; Krīḍā in the foreground with expressive eyes, gold leaf used sparingly to highlight moral tension (lamp, jewelry), background panels showing symbolic silhouettes of shifting desire; rich maroons and dark greens, ornate frame with lotus motifs turned slightly thorny in design.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: nocturnal interior with cool blues; delicate facial expressions conveying discomfort; a translucent dream-like background showing the husband’s wandering attachment; refined brushwork, minimal but poignant props (lamp, curtain, mirror).","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines and intense eyes; Krīḍā’s confession emphasized by hand gesture; background symbolic figures in simplified forms; strong red-ochre and black contrasts with yellow highlights, temple-wall gravity.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical composition—central figure Krīḍā, border of lotus vines interwoven with darker tendrils; peacocks subdued; deep indigo cloth with silver-white moon motifs, conveying moral disquiet rather than celebration."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low drum pulse","sudden silence on the confession line","distant thunder","wind through corridor","single bell strike"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सत्यमेतत् = सत्यम् + एतत्; यमिच्छते = यम् + इच्छते.
FAQs
The speaker is Krīḍā. She asserts that she speaks truthfully about her husband’s disposition: she aligns herself with whom he is attached to and tries to pacify whomever he desires.
The key verb pratisāntvayāmi (“I pacify/reconcile”) frames an ethic of calming conflict and maintaining harmony through soothing speech and relationship-management.
In this isolated verse, the emphasis is practical social dharma—describing interpersonal loyalty and reconciliation—rather than explicit Vaishnava Bhakti doctrine.