Shloka 57
Praise of Digging Wells and Building Water-Reservoirs
The Merit of Water-Works
असंमानं महद्दुःखमुभयोर्नाधिगच्छति । इति श्रीपाद्मपुराणे प्रथमे सृष्टिखंडे खातादिकीर्तनंनाम सप्तपंचाशत्तमोऽध्यायः
asaṃmānaṃ mahadduḥkhamubhayornādhigacchati | iti śrīpādmapurāṇe prathame sṛṣṭikhaṃḍe khātādikīrtanaṃnāma saptapaṃcāśattamo'dhyāyaḥ
بے ادبی بڑا دکھ ہے؛ اس سے دونوں فریقوں میں سے کسی کو بھی خیر و عافیت حاصل نہیں ہوتی۔ یوں شری پادما پران کے پہلے سृष्टिखण्ड میں ‘خاتادِکیرتن’ نام ستاونواں باب اختتام کو پہنچا۔
Narratorial/colophon line (chapter conclusion; no active speaker specified in this verse).
Concept: Asammāna (disrespect) generates great suffering and blocks welfare for both the one who disrespects and the one who is disrespected—social dharma safeguards spiritual fruit.
Application: Practice respectful speech, especially in sacred spaces and during rituals; treat service staff, pilgrims, and family members with dignity to prevent relational harm that cancels spiritual gains.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"At the end of a sacred discourse, the narrator closes the manuscript as two pilgrims—one proud, one wounded—stand apart; a gentle elder gestures for reconciliation. Above them, a symbolic scale shows ‘respect’ as a lotus rising and ‘disrespect’ as a stone sinking, illustrating how both parties lose peace when honor is broken.","primary_figures":["elder sage/narrator","two pilgrims or householders","attendant disciples"],"setting":"Pilgrimage rest-house near a well/stepwell with carved stone steps and water pots","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["stone gray","water blue","marigold gold","earth brown","white cotton"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: chapter-colophon tableau near a sacred well, an elder sage with gold leaf halo holding a palm-leaf manuscript, two figures on either side showing discord, ornate arch border with lotus and conch, rich reds and greens, gold leaf emphasizing the moral ‘asammāna’ as a dark cloud dissipating into light.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: a quiet stepwell scene with delicate lines, soft morning light, two figures separated by a small distance, an elder mediating, cool blues and muted browns, lyrical trees and birds, subtle moral symbolism in floating lotus vs sinking stone motifs.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, stylized stepwell geometry, expressive eyes, the elder’s hand in teaching mudrā, red-yellow-green palette, a dark shape labeled by gesture as ‘duḥkha’ receding, temple-wall compositional symmetry.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: decorative border of lotuses and creepers around a central moral scene near water, deep indigo background with gold highlights, peacocks perched on the stepwell rail, a manuscript motif at top indicating ‘iti… adhyāyaḥ’, emphasis on harmony and respectful gathering."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"meditative","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["closing conch note","soft bell fade-out","water drawn from a well","brief silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: महद्दुःखम् = महत् + दुःखम्; दुःखमubhayor = दुःखम् + उभयोः; उभयोर्नाधिगच्छति = उभयोः + न + अधिगच्छति; कीर्तनंनाम = कीर्तनम् + नाम; सaptapaṃcāśattamo'dhyāyaḥ = सप्तपञ्चाशत्तमः + अध्यायः.
FAQs
It functions as a closing statement (colophon), summarizing a moral point and marking the end of Adhyaya 57, “Khātādikīrtana,” in the Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa.
It teaches that disrespect (asaṃmāna) generates great suffering and harms both sides—neither the one who disrespects nor the one disrespected truly benefits from it.
The verse speaks generally: “both parties” involved in an act of dishonor—commonly understood as the one who shows disrespect and the recipient (or the two parties in conflict).