Shloka 42
Prohibitions and Rules of Right Conduct (Ācāra): Theft, Speech, Purity, Residence, and Social Boundaries
तानि पुत्रान्पशून्घ्नंति तेषां मिथ्याभिशंसिनाम् । ब्रह्महत्या सुरापाने स्तेये गुर्वंगनागमे
tāni putrānpaśūnghnaṃti teṣāṃ mithyābhiśaṃsinām | brahmahatyā surāpāne steye gurvaṃganāgame
جھوٹی گواہی دینے والوں کے بیٹوں اور مویشیوں کو وہ گناہ تباہ کر دیتے ہیں—جیسے برہمن ہتیا، شراب نوشی، چوری، اور گرو کی بیوی سے بدکاری۔
Unspecified (contextual narrator/teacher voice within Svargakhaṇḍa)
Concept: False accusation/false witness invites catastrophic sin-fruit, destroying progeny and prosperity; it is aligned with the gravest transgressions.
Application: Never testify or forward claims without certainty; avoid ‘character assassination.’ In institutions, insist on due process and evidence; practice restitution if one has harmed another’s reputation.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A stark moral tableau: a man giving false testimony stands before a sacred fire, while shadow-forms of the four mahāpātakas loom behind him like dark silhouettes. In the background, his household—children and cattle—fade into mist, symbolizing the ruin that follows adharma.","primary_figures":["false witness (mithyābhisaṃśin)","shadow-forms of mahāpātakas (brahmahatyā, surāpāna, steya, guru-patnī-gamana)","a sacred fire (agni)","family and cattle (symbolic)"],"setting":"Village tribunal near a yajña-śālā; sacrificial fire pit, wooden posts, witnesses seated; ominous sky.","lighting_mood":"dramatic chiaroscuro","color_palette":["charcoal black","blood red","smoldering orange","dust brown","pale ash"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: intense moral allegory with a false witness before agni; looming dark personifications of the four mahāpātakas; gold leaf used sparingly as harsh sacred glare on the fire and dharma symbols; rich reds, deep greens, ornate borders heightening severity.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: narrative scene with symbolic shadows behind the witness; delicate yet tense expressions; muted earth palette with sharp orange fire; misty background where cattle and children fade, conveying consequence with poetic restraint.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines, fierce stylized personifications of sins behind the witness; agni blazing; family/cattle rendered as fading motifs; strong red-yellow-black contrasts, temple-wall gravity.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical composition—central agni and dharma scales, the witness in the foreground; surrounding border of thorny creepers replacing usual florals to signal adharma; deep indigo ground with red/orange highlights, intricate patterning."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["sharp bell strikes","fire crackle","low thunder rumble","conch blast at cadence end"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: putrānpaśūn → putrān paśūn; paśūnghnanti → paśūn ghnanti; gurvaṃganāgame → guru-aṅganā-āgame (multiple tatpuruṣa components).
FAQs
It warns that false testimony and grave transgressions bring severe consequences, harming one’s family line (sons) and livelihood (cattle/wealth).
Brahmin-murder (brahmahatyā), drinking liquor (surāpāna), theft (steya), and sexual relations with the guru’s wife (gurvaṅganāgama).
They represent continuity and prosperity in traditional society—offspring for lineage and cattle for sustenance/wealth—indicating that such wrongdoing undermines both posterity and material stability.