Shloka 87
The Account of Women
Householder Ethics, Fault, Merit, and Govinda-Nāma as Purification
अनाभरणकन्यायाः पादैकस्य फलं भवेत् । यः पुनः शुल्कमश्नाति स याति नरके नरः
anābharaṇakanyāyāḥ pādaikasya phalaṃ bhavet | yaḥ punaḥ śulkamaśnāti sa yāti narake naraḥ
بے زیور کنیا کے (دان) کا پھل صرف ایک پاؤں کے برابر ہوتا ہے؛ مگر جو شخص دوبارہ شُلک (دلہن کی قیمت) قبول کر کے کھاتا ہے، وہ آدمی دوزخ میں جاتا ہے۔
Unspecified (verse presented as a general dharma statement within Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa narrative context)
Concept: Treating marriage as a transaction (accepting śulka) is condemned; dharma requires non-exploitative giving and protection of the maiden’s dignity.
Application: Reject practices that commodify people; avoid greed in sacred rites; ensure consent, welfare, and dignity in family decisions.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A stark moral tableau: on one side, an unadorned maiden stands with downcast eyes, while a man counts coins—his face tense with greed. Behind him looms a shadowy vision of Naraka: iron gates, smoky darkness, and stern messengers, making the consequence of śulka-taking unmistakable.","primary_figures":["Unadorned maiden (anābharaṇa-kanyā)","Greedy śulka-taker","Yama-dūtas (visionary)","Yama (distant, implied)"],"setting":"Split scene: village threshold with coins and contract-like gestures, dissolving into a hell-realm with iron gates and smoke","lighting_mood":"moonlit","color_palette":["charcoal black","rust red","ashen gray","dull copper","cold blue"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: dramatic moral contrast with gold leaf used sparingly—glinting coins and a harsh halo around the warning text; the greedy man in rich but ominous reds; Naraka gate in dark tones with embossed metallic accents; stylized Yama-dūtas with fierce eyes, traditional iconography intensified.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: narrative diptych composition—left a quiet domestic scene with subdued colors, right a dark, smoky Naraka vignette; delicate linework showing the maiden’s sorrow and the man’s avarice; restrained yet piercing moral drama.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, intense facial expressions; Yama-dūtas in stylized fierce forms; strong red-black-yellow contrasts; the maiden rendered with simplified ornaments absent, emphasizing anābharaṇa; hell-gate motifs like temple-wall demon iconography.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: moral allegory framed by floral borders that turn thorny near the Naraka side; deep blues and blacks with copper highlights; central warning scene with symbolic motifs—withered lotus near greed, blooming lotus near dharma—intricate patterning and narrative clarity."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["thunder (soft)","iron clang (implied)","conch shell (warning blast)","heavy silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: अनाभरणकन्यायाः = अन्(नञ्) + आभरण + कन्यायाः; शुल्कमश्नाति = शुल्कम् + अश्नाति.
FAQs
It condemns taking or enjoying śulka (a bride-price/fee) as morally blameworthy, warning that such conduct leads to hellish consequences.
Literally “eats,” but in this context it functions idiomatically as “accepts/consumes/enjoys (the benefit of)”—i.e., taking the bride-price.
No. This shloka is primarily a dharma-ethical injunction related to marriage transactions rather than a passage about deities or sacred geography.