Shloka 16
Right Conduct, Offenses Against Brāhmaṇas, Truthfulness, and the Greatness of the Cow
Go-Māhātmya
सन्निवृत्तस्ततः कीटाद्यन्त्यजातिषु जायते । ततो रोगी दरिद्रस्तु क्षुधया परिपीडितः
sannivṛttastataḥ kīṭādyantyajātiṣu jāyate | tato rogī daridrastu kṣudhayā paripīḍitaḥ
نیک راہ سے ہٹ کر وہ پہلے کیڑوں وغیرہ کی پست پیدائشوں میں جنم لیتا ہے، پھر بیمار اور مفلس ہو کر بھوک کی اذیت میں مبتلا رہتا ہے۔
Uncertain (context not provided; likely a narrator within the Pulastya–Bhīṣma dialogue typical of Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa).
Concept: Adharma leads to spiritual fall: after hellish experience, one descends into low births and then into human misery—disease, poverty, and hunger.
Application: Treat others’ vulnerability as sacred responsibility; avoid actions that cause suffering; build habits of generosity and gentle speech to prevent karmic ‘downward spirals’.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A symbolic wheel of rebirth turns: from a shadowed fall, the soul appears as a tiny worm in damp earth, then as a frail human with sunken eyes, clutching an empty stomach. The imagery emphasizes how cruelty and neglect ripple into embodied suffering—hunger returning as destiny.","primary_figures":["symbolic jīva (soul)","worm/low creatures (kīṭa-ādi)","sickly poor human figure"],"setting":"Triptych-like landscape: dark transitional void → muddy ground with insects → barren village edge with a gaunt figure.","lighting_mood":"overcast, somber realism with faint karmic glow","color_palette":["earth umber","mud green","ashen beige","dull ochre","storm blue"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: narrative triptych panel—left shows a falling figure into darkness, center shows kīṭa forms in stylized earth, right shows a sickly poor man with empty bowl; ornate borders and selective gold leaf to highlight the ‘wheel of karma’ motif; rich but restrained tones.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: delicate sequential storytelling in three registers; fine depiction of earth textures and a sparse village; subdued palette, poignant facial expression, gentle moral melancholy rather than horror.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlined three-scene band with clear iconography—fall, low birth, human poverty; patterned frames, flat color fields, didactic temple-art clarity.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical ‘saṃsāra-chakra’ with lotus medallions turning into thorny medallions; minimal figures, strong decorative borders, deep blue/earth tones, gold linework to show karmic inevitability."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"meditative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["low tanpura","soft wind ambience","distant temple bell","subtle heartbeat-like drum","long pauses"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सन्निवृत्तस्ततः = सन्निवृत्तः + ततः; कीटाद्यन्त्यजातिषु = कीट-आदि-अन्त्य-जातिषु; दरिद्रस्तु = दरिद्रः + तु
FAQs
It teaches karmaphala: turning away from righteous conduct leads to lower rebirths and suffering such as illness, poverty, and hunger.
In Purāṇic framing it is presented as a literal karmic rebirth sequence, while also functioning as a moral warning about the consequences of ethical decline.
Sustaining dharma (right conduct) is portrayed as essential; abandoning it results in progressively harsher conditions of existence and deprivation.