Shloka 5
Rules of Edible and Inedible Foods
चक्रोपजीवि रजक तस्करध्वजिनां तथा । गांधर्वलोहकारान्नं मृतकान्नं विवर्जयेत्
cakropajīvi rajaka taskaradhvajināṃ tathā | gāṃdharvalohakārānnaṃ mṛtakānnaṃ vivarjayet
جو لوگ چرخے/پہیے کے کام سے روزی کماتے ہیں، دھوبی، چور اور جھنڈا بردار (سپاہی)—ان کا کھانا نہ لیا جائے؛ نیز گانے بجانے والوں اور لوہاروں کا کھانا، اور میت سے وابستہ کھانا بھی چھوڑ دینا چاہیے۔
Not explicitly identified in the provided excerpt (context needed from surrounding verses of Svarga-khaṇḍa 56).
Concept: The moral/occupational context of a gift affects the receiver’s purity; food linked to violence, theft, death-impurity, or morally ambiguous livelihoods is to be refused.
Application: Avoid dependence on unethical income streams; when accepting hospitality, consider the ethical climate and emotional residue (grief, violence, deceit) surrounding the meal; keep one’s worship days especially guarded.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A village crossroads near an āśrama: artisans and performers—washerman by the river, metalworker at a glowing forge, a singer with vīṇā, a soldier with banner—offer food to a fasting devotee. In the background, a funeral procession passes, and the devotee steps back, hands folded, choosing to keep ritual purity intact.","primary_figures":["vrata-observant devotee","washerman (rajaka)","metalworker (lohākāra)","gandharva-like performer/singer","soldier/standard-bearer","funeral attendants (mṛtaka context)"],"setting":"Edge of forest settlement with riverbank washing stones, a small forge, and a path leading to cremation ground in the distance.","lighting_mood":"forest dappled","color_palette":["smoke gray","river blue","iron black","marigold yellow","ash white"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: foreground devotee with folded hands refusing bowls; to one side a bright forge with gold leaf highlights, to the other a riverbank washerman; a banner-bearing soldier and musician appear as symbolic donors; distant funeral scene rendered with restraint; ornate borders, rich reds/greens, gold leaf radiance around the devotee’s calm face.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: lyrical landscape with a winding river and tiny forge; delicate figures offering food, the devotee stepping back; cool blues and soft grays, refined expressions, subtle depiction of funeral procession as a distant vignette.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: stylized occupational figures in clear compartments—forge, riverbank, performance—surrounding the central devotee; bold outlines, flat pigments, rhythmic composition, temple-wall symmetry.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: narrative tableau with ornate floral borders; symbolic donors arranged around a central shrine-like space where the devotee maintains purity; peacocks near the river, deep indigo ground with gold and white detailing, lotus motifs framing the moral lesson."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Durga","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["river flow","forge hammering","distant funeral drum","temple bell punctuations","brief silence after 'mṛtakānna'"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: चक्रोपजीवि=चक्र-उपजीवि; तस्करध्वजिनाम्=तस्कर-ध्वजिनाम्; गांधर्वलोहकारान्नम्=गान्धर्व-लोहकार-अन्नम्; मृतकान्नम्=मृतक-अन्नम्.
FAQs
It lists categories of people/contexts from whom one should not accept food, presenting a rule of conduct (ācāra) tied to ritual and social notions of purity.
It refers to food associated with a death—commonly understood as food from a house in mourning or food offered/handled in the context of post-death rites—considered unsuitable for one observing purity rules.
The verse functions primarily as an ācāra rule about food-acceptance (annapratigraha) within a purity framework; it is not necessarily a universal ethical condemnation of those professions, but a prescriptive guideline for certain practitioners and contexts.