Shloka 88
Merit of Causeways and Crossings, Temple Construction Rewards, and the Rudrākṣa Mahātmya
लिंगरूपस्य देवस्य यो धनं हरते नरः । स च रौरवमासाद्य हरणात्कीटतां व्रजेत्
liṃgarūpasya devasya yo dhanaṃ harate naraḥ | sa ca rauravamāsādya haraṇātkīṭatāṃ vrajet
جو شخص لِنگ روپ والے دیوتا (بھگوان شیو) کا مال چراتا ہے، وہ رَورَو نرک کو پہنچتا ہے؛ اور اس چوری کے نتیجے میں کیڑے مکوڑے کی حالت کو جا پہنچتا ہے۔
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within the Adhyaya context)
Concept: Stealing wealth dedicated to a deity is grave adharma leading to naraka and degraded rebirth.
Application: Treat religious donations and temple funds as inviolable; practice transparent stewardship; avoid even small misappropriations in sacred contexts.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A shadowed temple treasury chamber: a man furtively lifts coins and ornaments meant for worship, while the liṅga’s presence looms as a sacred witness. The scene dissolves into a terrifying vision of Raurava—dark ravines, iron heat-haze, and writhing forms—signaling karmic consequence and degraded rebirth.","primary_figures":["Śiva-liṅga (as sacred form)","thief","nāraka-yātanā figures (messengers of Yama)"],"setting":"Temple inner precinct transitioning into a hell-realm landscape","lighting_mood":"dramatic","color_palette":["charcoal black","smoldering crimson","ash gray","sulfur yellow","cold steel blue"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: foreground temple sanctum with a polished black liṅga on a yoni-pīṭha, gold-leaf lamp stands and offerings; a thief clutching coins, eyes wide; background framed as a gold-arched vignette showing Raurava with fiery reds, stylized Yama-dūtas, and ornate borders emphasizing moral warning.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: split-scene composition—left: quiet stone sanctum with delicate detailing, right: stark ravine of Raurava with smoky washes; fine linework on the thief’s anxious face, muted earth tones shifting to ominous reds, minimal but expressive demon figures.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, high-contrast reds and blacks; central liṅga as a powerful icon, thief rendered with exaggerated eyes; Yama-dūtas in stylized forms, flame motifs and serpent-like curves, temple-wall narrative panel aesthetic.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: unconventional moral tableau—temple border of lotuses and bells, central sanctum with offerings; the lower register shows a symbolic Raurava as swirling dark floral patterns turning into flames, with intricate borders and deep blues contrasted by crimson warnings."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple drum","conch shell (distant)","echoing footsteps","metallic clink of coins","ominous silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: लिंगरूपस्य = लिङ्ग + रूपस्य; रौरवमासाद्य = रौरवम् + आसाद्य; हरणात्कीटताम् = हरणात् + कीटताम्.
FAQs
It condemns stealing property dedicated to the deity (especially Liṅga-worship) and frames it as a grave sin with severe karmic consequences.
Raurava is described in Purāṇic literature as a hell-realm (naraka) associated with intense suffering for certain sins; here it is linked to theft from the deity.
It presents a karmic retribution theme: after suffering in naraka, the sinner is said to fall into a degraded birth (kīṭatā) as a further consequence of sacrilegious theft.