Shloka 58
Right Conduct, Offenses Against Brāhmaṇas, Truthfulness, and the Greatness of the Cow
Go-Māhātmya
अग्निदो गरदश्चैव धनहारी च सुप्तघः । क्षेत्रदारापहारी च षडेते ह्याततायिनः
agnido garadaścaiva dhanahārī ca suptaghaḥ | kṣetradārāpahārī ca ṣaḍete hyātatāyinaḥ
آگ لگانے والا، زہر دینے والا، مال و دولت چرانے والا، سوئے ہوئے کو قتل کرنے والا، کھیت و زمین ہڑپ کرنے والا، اور بیوی کو اغوا کرنے والا—یہ چھے ہی یقیناً آتتایِن (خونی جارح) کہلاتے ہیں۔
Unspecified in the provided excerpt (context-dependent within Adhyaya 48).
Concept: Certain acts constitute immediate, violent aggression (ātatāyin) and are treated as extreme breaches of social and moral order.
Application: Recognize red-flag behaviors (arson, poisoning, theft, assault, coercive dispossession) and respond through lawful protection, community safeguards, and personal non-complicity; cultivate vigilance without cruelty.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A dharma-śāstra tableau: six shadowed figures embodying the ātatāyin crimes—one with a torch near a thatched house, one slipping poison into a cup, one stealing a money pouch, one raising a blade over a sleeping victim, one driving boundary stakes into another’s field, and one dragging a veiled spouse away—while a calm sage points to a palm-leaf manuscript of law. The scene contrasts chaos at the margins with a central axis of moral instruction and protective order.","primary_figures":["Dharma-śāstra sage (unnamed)","Six ātatāyin archetypes","Householder couple","Village witnesses"],"setting":"Edge of a village near fields and a small shrine; a teaching platform with palm-leaf manuscripts and a water pot.","lighting_mood":"lamp-lit with stark chiaroscuro","color_palette":["smoky umber","lamp-gold","indigo night","ash gray","deep maroon"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a central seated rishi holding palm-leaf śāstra, right hand in teaching gesture, surrounded by six vignette panels of the ātatāyin crimes (arsonist with torch, poisoner with cup, thief with coin-pouch, sleeper-slayer with dagger, land-usurper with boundary stones, wife-abductor pulling a veil), heavy gold leaf halos and borders, rich crimson and emerald textiles, ornate jewelry on householders, temple-lamp glow, symmetrical composition with embossed gold detailing.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: lyrical village landscape with terraced fields and a small shrine, a gentle-faced sage instructing a circle of listeners, six small narrative vignettes in the margins showing each crime with delicate brushwork, cool twilight blues and soft browns, refined facial features, subtle emotional tension, thin white outlines and floral borders.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines and flat natural pigments, central guru-like rishi with large expressive eyes, six simplified icon-panels around him depicting the crimes, strong red-yellow-green palette with dark indigo background, temple-wall aesthetic, stylized flames and poison cup motifs, rhythmic symmetry.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: a moral allegory framed by intricate floral borders and lotus motifs; central teaching scene under a stylized pavilion, side medallions depicting the six ātatāyin acts in symbolic form (torch, poison pot, money bag, sleeping figure, boundary plough, abducted veil), deep blue ground with gold highlights, peacocks and cows at the border to contrast dharma vs adharma, Nathdwara-like ornamentation."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["temple bells (distant)","low drone (tanpura)","night insects","brief conch accent at verse end"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: गरदः + च + एव → गरदश्चैव; षट् + एते → षडेते; हि + आततायिनः → ह्याततायिनः.
FAQs
They are: the arsonist (agnida), poisoner (garada), thief of wealth (dhanahārī), killer of a sleeping person (suptagha), usurper of land (kṣetrāpahārī), and abductor of one’s wife (dārāpahārī).
The verse classifies certain acts as extreme violations of dharma—forms of predatory violence and betrayal—so that society can recognize grave wrongdoing and respond with appropriate moral and legal seriousness.
No. This shloka is primarily a dharma-ethical definition (a legal-moral category of aggressors) rather than a passage about sacred geography or devotional practice.