Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 39
Karmas Leading to Hell and Heaven
Ethical Catalog of Destinies
वापीकूपतडागानां प्रपानां चैव वेश्मनाम् । आरामाणां च कर्तारस्ते नराः स्वर्गगामिनः
vāpīkūpataḍāgānāṃ prapānāṃ caiva veśmanām | ārāmāṇāṃ ca kartāraste narāḥ svargagāminaḥ
Những ai dựng giếng, giếng bậc (vāpī), ao hồ, nơi bố thí nước uống, nhà trú chân và vườn cây an lạc—người ấy định phần lên cõi trời.
Unspecified (context not provided; likely a narrator within the Bhūmi-khaṇḍa dialogue frame).
Concept: Creating water sources, shelters, and groves is a high form of dāna (public charity) that yields heavenly merit.
Application: Support public goods: fund drinking water, plant shade trees, maintain ponds, sponsor rest areas near temples/hospitals; treat maintenance as ongoing seva, not one-time charity.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A benefactor oversees the digging of a well and the planting of a shady grove beside a pilgrim road; travelers and ascetics drink from a newly built water-station while birds gather at a fresh pond. The scene radiates quiet compassion—dharma made visible as life-giving water and shade.","primary_figures":["donor/benefactor","laborers digging a well","travelers/pilgrims","ascetic receiving water"],"setting":"roadside near a small shrine, with a new stepwell, pond, water-station (prapā), and young trees forming an ārāma","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["fresh leaf green","terracotta earth","sky blue","white limestone","sunlit gold"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: donor figure with gold leaf halo offering a water pot to a pilgrim; ornate stepwell and pond rendered with rich colors; gold embellishment on water ripples and shrine details; lush green grove with stylized lotus border motifs and gem-like accents.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: detailed stepwell architecture, delicate figures drawing water, soft landscape with flowering trees; gentle narrative realism—pilgrims resting under shade, birds at the pond; cool blues and greens with fine linework.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines; rhythmic depiction of pond, well, and grove; donor in frontal pose offering water; warm reds/yellows/greens, decorative borders with lotus and conch motifs to hint Vaiṣṇava merit.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: central pond with lotus blooms, surrounding border of flowering vines; pilgrims and cows drinking at a prapā; deep blue and gold accents; intricate floral frame suggesting akṣaya-puṇya through water-giving."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Desh","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["flowing water","stone being set","birds in grove","distant temple bell","human footsteps and murmurs"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: चैव = च एव। कर्तारस्ते = कर्तारः ते (विसर्ग-सन्धिः)। प्रथमपादे ‘वापीकूपतडागानाम्’ इति द्वन्द्वसमासः षष्ठीबहुवचनान्तः।
FAQs
The verse praises creating public-benefit infrastructure—wells/stepwells, ponds, drinking-water stations, shelters, and gardens—framing them as dharmic works that generate great merit.
Because providing water sustains life for travelers, villagers, and animals; Purāṇas often treat such life-supporting public works as high forms of dāna with lasting, widely shared benefit.
The ethical teaching is that selfless, community-serving actions—especially those that relieve thirst, hardship, and travel—are spiritually elevating and lead to auspicious posthumous results.