Shloka 28
Right Conduct, Offenses Against Brāhmaṇas, Truthfulness, and the Greatness of the Cow
Go-Māhātmya
ततो भिषक्प्रयोगे च पापात्पुण्यं पलायते । अपुण्याज्जलरेखेव तेनैव निधनं व्रजेत्
tato bhiṣakprayoge ca pāpātpuṇyaṃ palāyate | apuṇyājjalarekheva tenaiva nidhanaṃ vrajet
پھر جب وہ (ایسے گناہ کے حال میں) طبیب کے علاج کا سہارا لیتا ہے تو اس گناہ کے سبب اس کی نیکی یوں بھاگ جاتی ہے جیسے پانی پر کھینچی لکیر مٹ جائے؛ اور اسی گناہ سے وہ ہلاکت کو پہنچتا ہے۔
Unspecified (narrative voice; chapter-context speaker not provided in the input)
Concept: Puṇya is subtle and can be quickly destroyed by pāpa; seeking remedies while persisting in sin leads to spiritual ruin.
Application: Treat wrongdoing at its root: confess, desist, and adopt sattvic conduct; don’t use ‘solutions’ that ignore ethical causes.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A remorseful householder stands at a crossroads: one path leads to a physician’s hut with herbs and instruments, the other to a small Viṣṇu shrine with a lamp and tulasī. Above his head, a luminous ‘puṇya’ aura evaporates like a thin line drawn on rippling water, while shadowy forms of pāpa tug at his feet toward a dark ravine.","primary_figures":["a conflicted householder","a village physician (bhisak)","Viṣṇu (as a small shrine icon)","personified Puṇya and Pāpa (allegorical)"],"setting":"riverbank near a village, with a simple clinic on one side and a modest Vaishnava shrine with tulasī on the other","lighting_mood":"twilight moral chiaroscuro","color_palette":["indigo dusk","lamp-gold","ash gray","lotus pink","deep emerald"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a central Vaishnava shrine with Viṣṇu icon and tulasī in a brass pot, gold leaf halo radiating; to the side a physician holding a palm-leaf text and herbal bowl; the householder in rich red-green garments, with gem-studded ornaments; a shimmering gold-leaf ‘water line’ motif dissolving into the river, symbolic Puṇya fading, ornate temple lamp-lit ambience.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: lyrical riverbank scene at dusk, delicate brushwork showing a thin water-line dissolving on ripples; a humble clinic hut and a small Viṣṇu shrine framed by trees; refined faces conveying anxiety and resolve, cool blues and greens with a warm lamp glow, distant hills soft in mist.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines, earthy pigments; allegorical Puṇya as a pale-gold figure fading into stylized water waves, Pāpa as dark-red shadow forms; Viṣṇu shrine with lamp and tulasī rendered in temple-wall aesthetic, large expressive eyes, dramatic twilight palette.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: Vaishnava devotional composition with a central shrine and tulasī, ornate floral borders; symbolic rippling water band across the lower panel where a gold ‘line’ breaks apart; peacocks perched near the shrine, deep blue background with gold highlights, narrative vignettes of clinic vs devotion."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple bell","soft conch in distance","river water","brief silence after the simile"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: भिषक्प्रयोगे = भिषक् + प्रयोगे; पापात्पुण्यम् = पापात् + पुण्यम्; अपुण्याज्जलरेखा = अपुण्यात् + जलरेखा; तेनैव = तेन + एव.
FAQs
No. It criticizes seeking remedies while remaining rooted in sinful conduct; the point is that demerit erodes merit, making one’s efforts fruitless.
Merit is depicted as unstable when undermined by wrongdoing—like a water-line that cannot remain; it disappears immediately.
One should remove the underlying sinful cause and cultivate dharma; otherwise, even beneficial actions become ineffective and lead to downfall.