Shloka 40
The Glory of Truthful Oaths and Keeping One’s Promise
Satya & Pratijñā
दत्वाशां यो जनः कुर्यान्नैराश्यं चैव मूढधीः । स स्वकान्कोटिपुरुषान्गृहीत्वा नरकं व्रजेत्
datvāśāṃ yo janaḥ kuryānnairāśyaṃ caiva mūḍhadhīḥ | sa svakānkoṭipuruṣāngṛhītvā narakaṃ vrajet
جو نادان فہم انسان پہلے امید دلا کر پھر ناامیدی پھیلاتا ہے، وہ اپنے بے شمار کروڑوں افراد (اپنوں) کو ساتھ لے کر دوزخ کی راہ لیتا ہے۔
Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator context)
Concept: To give hope/assurance and then induce despair is a grave breach of trust that multiplies sin and drags many into suffering.
Application: Do not promise what you cannot deliver; communicate boundaries honestly; avoid manipulative reassurance in charity, leadership, or spiritual guidance.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A figure extends a hand in promise beneath a canopy, a warm glow of hope lighting the faces of many gathered people; in the next visual beat, the same hand withdraws, and the crowd’s light collapses into shadow. Behind them yawns a stylized naraka chasm, suggesting that betrayal of assurance becomes a collective fall.","primary_figures":["Householder/leader figure (the promiser)","A group of dependents/supplicants","Yama’s messengers (subtle, in the background)"],"setting":"A public courtyard or assembly space transitioning into a symbolic underworld fissure at the edge of the scene.","lighting_mood":"dramatic chiaroscuro","color_palette":["saffron glow","charcoal black","rust red","ashen gray","cold violet"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: central figure with raised blessing/promise gesture, crowd with hopeful faces; gold leaf halo-like aura around the initial promise, then darkened lower register showing a stylized naraka fissure with red-black flames; ornate borders, rich reds/greens, gem-studded ornaments on the central figure to heighten irony of moral failure.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: two-part narrative composition—left panel warm hopeful assembly, right panel cool shadowed despair; delicate brushwork, refined expressions, architectural pavilion, subtle underworld motif as a dark ravine; restrained palette with lyrical contrast.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines—promiser at center, crowd in rhythmic rows; background shifts from yellow-red hope to deep green/black despair; stylized Yama-dūtas at margins; temple-wall compositional symmetry and patterned borders.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical scene framed by floral borders—hope depicted as blooming lotuses around the promise, despair as withered lotuses near a dark ravine; intricate motifs, deep blue ground with gold highlights, narrative symbolism rather than literal horror."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["sharp bell strikes","distant thunder roll","murmur of a crowd fading to silence","low drum pulse"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: datvā + āśām = datvāśām (Savarna-dirgha); kuryāt + nairāśyam = kuryānnairāśyam (Anunasika); ca + eva = caiva (Vriddhi); koṭipuruṣān + gṛhītvā = koṭipuruṣāngṛhītvā (Anusvara/Parasavarna)
FAQs
The verse functions as an ethical warning: creating trust and then undermining it is treated as a serious breach of dharma. The imagery of heavy consequence underscores that speech and promises shape others’ inner stability, and thus carry spiritual accountability.