Shloka 7
Praise of Digging Wells and Building Water-Reservoirs
The Merit of Water-Works
पितॄणां तर्पणं शौचं रूपं वै गंध्यनाशनम् । बीजं त्विहार्जितं सर्वं सर्वं तोये प्रतिष्ठितम्
pitṝṇāṃ tarpaṇaṃ śaucaṃ rūpaṃ vai gaṃdhyanāśanam | bījaṃ tvihārjitaṃ sarvaṃ sarvaṃ toye pratiṣṭhitam
آباء و اجداد کے لیے ترپن، طہارت، حسن و جمال اور بدبو کا زوال—یہاں پیدا ہونے والا ہر بیج؛ یہ سب کچھ پانی ہی میں قائم ہے۔
Unspecified (contextual narration within Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa; explicit speaker not provided in the input verse)
Concept: Water undergirds ritual efficacy (tarpaṇa), bodily purity, beauty, and fertility; it is the substrate of worldly and sacred flourishing.
Application: Maintain cleanliness, perform ancestral remembrance with sincerity, protect water sources, and treat water as sacred rather than merely utilitarian.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"On a quiet riverbank, a devotee kneels with kuśa grass and a small copper vessel, offering tarpaṇa—thin streams of water falling like silver threads—while elders’ silhouettes appear subtly in the mist as blessings. Nearby, flowering plants and sprouting seeds suggest fertility, and the air feels freshly washed, fragrant, and auspicious.","primary_figures":["devotee performing pitṛ-tarpaṇa","subtle ancestral presences (pitṛs)","river goddess (suggested, not dominant)"],"setting":"riverbank with smooth stones, kuśa grass, small altar space, and sprouting seedlings in damp soil","lighting_mood":"moonlit","color_palette":["silver mist","river teal","copper bronze","jasmine white","soft sandalwood beige"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: riverbank tarpaṇa scene with devotee holding kuśa and copper kalaśa, stylized pitṛ figures in a gentle aureole above the water; gold leaf ripples, rich maroon and green garments, ornate borders with lotus and conch motifs.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: delicate riverbank at twilight, fine brushwork showing water threads and mist; understated ancestral forms in the background, cool blues and greys, lyrical trees and distant hills, contemplative mood.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines; devotee in profile offering water, symbolic pitṛ forms in cloud-like bands, patterned river waves, warm earthy pigments with green and ochre dominance.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: decorative river scene framed by floral borders; repeated water-drop motifs, subtle pitṛ icons in medallions, deep blue ground with gold highlights, devotional symmetry."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"devotional","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["flowing water","soft conch in distance","evening crickets","gentle bell"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: गंध्यनाशनम् → गन्धि + नाशनम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः); त्विहार्जितं → तु + इह + अर्जितम् (उ + इ → वि/व्यवहारतः ‘त्वि’; लेखनरूप ‘त्विह’)
FAQs
It presents water as the foundation of ritual offerings to the ancestors, bodily and ritual purity, and even the generative principle (seed), emphasizing water’s indispensability in life and dharma.
Tarpaṇa is explicitly named and is traditionally performed with water; the verse reinforces that the satisfaction of the Pitṛs and the efficacy of such rites are grounded in water.
Since purity, well-being, and life’s generative continuity depend on water, it implies reverence for water, careful use of it, and maintaining cleanliness as part of dharmic living.