Shloka 120
Brahmin Conduct, Purificatory Baths, and the Garuḍa–Nectar Episode
Illustrative Narrative
विष्णुर्न लभ्यते देवैस्त्वयासौ विप्र लभ्यते । सपत्नीव्यसनाद्धोरान्मातरं ते प्रमोचय
viṣṇurna labhyate devaistvayāsau vipra labhyate | sapatnīvyasanāddhorānmātaraṃ te pramocaya
وِشنو تو دیوتاؤں کو بھی آسانی سے حاصل نہیں ہوتا، مگر اے وِپر (برہمن)، وہ تمہیں حاصل ہو گیا ہے۔ پس سوتن کے ہولناک دکھ سے اپنی ماں کو رہائی دے۔
Unspecified (a counselor/elder addressing a brāhmaṇa)
Concept: Rare access to Viṣṇu is validated not by status but by dharmic action—especially rescuing one’s mother from unjust suffering.
Application: Translate spiritual attainment into immediate responsibility: intervene where family injustice persists; protect a parent/elder from humiliation; let devotion become tangible care.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Inside a modest hermitage-home, an elder counselor addresses a young brāhmaṇa with grave tenderness, pointing toward a sorrowful mother seated apart, her face shadowed by the cruelty of a rival wife. A faint, unseen aura suggests Viṣṇu’s grace hovering over the scene, as if urging compassion to become action.","primary_figures":["young brāhmaṇa son","sorrowing mother","elder counselor","subtle symbolic presence of Viṣṇu (aura/lotus/conch motif)"],"setting":"interior of an āśrama household courtyard with tulasī planter, low wooden seat, oil lamp, and woven mats; a doorway hints at the rival-wife’s quarters","lighting_mood":"temple lamp-lit","color_palette":["lamp-flame amber","earth-ochre","deep indigo","tulasī green","conch-white"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: an elder counselor blessing and instructing a young brāhmaṇa to free his mother from co-wife misery, mother seated with downcast eyes; subtle Viṣṇu symbols (conch, discus, lotus) in the background halo; gold leaf embellishment on ornaments and lamp flames, rich vermilion and emerald textiles, traditional South Indian iconography, ornate arch frame.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate domestic dharma scene in an āśrama courtyard, delicate brushwork showing the mother’s quiet grief and the counselor’s compassionate gesture; cool natural palette with tulasī plant, fine facial expressions, soft Himalayan-style landscape glimpsed beyond the doorway, lyrical realism.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines, warm red-yellow-green pigments; the counselor’s raised hand in instruction, the mother seated in sorrow, stylized tulasī shrine; a faint Viṣṇu aura motif behind them, temple-wall aesthetic with characteristic large eyes.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: devotional domestic scene framed by lotus borders; Viṣṇu’s presence suggested through shankha-chakra motifs and a central lotus medallion; intricate floral patterns, deep blues and gold, tulasī leaves woven into the border, Nathdwara-inspired ornamentation."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["soft temple bells","oil lamp crackle","distant conch shell","hushed silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: विष्णुर्न = विष्णुः + न; देवैस्त्वया = देवैः + त्वया; त्वयासौ = त्वया + असौ; सपत्नीव्यसनाद्धोरात् = स-पत्नी-व्यसनात् + घोरात् (द् + घ → द्घ); (पाठे) घोरान्मातरम् = घोरात् + मातरम् (त् → न् before म).
FAQs
It states that Viṣṇu, unreachable even to the devas, becomes attainable to a devoted brāhmaṇa—highlighting devotion and moral purity over status or power.
Spiritual attainment should express itself as compassion and duty: the listener is urged to actively free his mother from severe suffering caused by domestic rivalry.
No. The verse focuses on devotional accessibility to Viṣṇu and a practical dharmic injunction within a family context, not on locations or tīrtha-māhātmya.