Shloka 30
The Marks of Merit and the Destinies of Beings
Divine vs Demonic Traits
न पश्यंति सुखं स्त्रीणां विशंति कानने द्रुतं । विघसोच्छिष्टपूतीनां भक्षणेभिरता भुवि
na paśyaṃti sukhaṃ strīṇāṃ viśaṃti kānane drutaṃ | vighasocchiṣṭapūtīnāṃ bhakṣaṇebhiratā bhuvi
وہ عورتوں کے ساتھ خوشی نہیں پاتے؛ فوراً جنگل میں جا گھستے ہیں۔ زمین پر وہ باسی، جُھوٹے اور بدبودار بچے کھچے لقموں کے کھانے میں ہی مشغول رہتے ہیں۔
Unspecified (context-dependent within Adhyaya 76; likely a narrator within the Pulastya–Bhīṣma dialogue frame common to the Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa)
Concept: A degraded disposition leads to alienation from wholesome household life and attraction to impure sustenance; conduct shapes one’s habitat and cravings.
Application: Choose sāttvika food and habits; if practicing renunciation, pair it with devotion and cleanliness rather than escapism or self-neglect.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: forest
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A group of hollow-eyed wanderers slips quickly into a dark forest, avoiding the village edge where ordinary life continues. On the forest floor they crouch over stale, discarded food near a broken pot, while a faint, unsettling aura suggests tamas rather than holy tapas.","primary_figures":["degraded wanderers (preta-like humans)","optional: village householders in the distance","optional: a witnessing sage at the boundary"],"setting":"forest edge (kānana) with a visible boundary between village light and forest gloom","lighting_mood":"twilight with uneasy shadows","color_palette":["deep green-black","mud brown","dull violet","ashen white","faded saffron"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: contrasting halves—bright village on one side, dark forest on the other; figures moving into the forest, gold leaf used only for the distant village lamps to emphasize loss of sattva; ornate border with moral symbolism.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: lyrical forest edge with subtle menace; delicate rendering of discarded food and broken pot; cool dusk palette, expressive faces showing restlessness and dissatisfaction.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold silhouettes entering the forest, stylized foliage, dramatic eye shapes; earthy pigments with dark greens and reds, didactic panel feel warning against tamasic habits.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical—border of lotus motifs wilting into dark leaves; central scene of forest withdrawal; deep indigo background with muted gold outlines, emphasizing moral contrast rather than realism."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"grave","sound_elements":["crickets at dusk","rustling undergrowth","distant village bell fading","ominous wind through trees"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: पश्यन्ति (पश्यंति इति पाठभेदः); विघस + उच्छिष्ट + पूतीनाम् → विघसोच्छिष्टपूतीनाम् (समास/द्वन्द्व); भक्षणेभिः + रताः → भक्षणेभिरताः (सन्धिः: ः + र → र्)
FAQs
It depicts an austere, renunciant mode of living—turning away from sensual enjoyment and choosing forest-dwelling with minimal, even unpleasant, sustenance.
The verse is descriptive and value-laden: it emphasizes severe detachment from pleasure and a harsh diet, typically associated with extreme asceticism; whether it is praise or critique depends on the surrounding passage.
It highlights the theme of vairāgya (dispassion): reducing dependence on sensual gratification and cultivating restraint, even when living conditions are difficult.