A Household Verse from the Tradition
From Vāstu Śāstra — The Science of Architecture, taught by Acharya T Krishnatrey. This lesson is free to read.
The tradition also carries counsel on the household. The *Bhavan Bhāskar* quotes the Mahābhārata on things to keep out of a home — an authentic verse whose sacred caution, read closely, holds real practical sense. <pre data-block="verse">भिन्नभाण्डं च खट्वां च कुक्कुटं शुनकं तथा । अप्रशस्तानि सर्वाणि यत्र वृक्षो गृहेरुहः ॥ भिन्नभाण्डे कलिं प्राहुः खट्वायां तु धनक्षयः । कुक्कुटे शुनके चैव हविर्नाश्नन्ति देवताः ॥ वृक्षमूले ध्रुवं सत्त्वं तस्माद् वृक्षं न रोपयेत् ॥</pre> > **Translation:** "A cracked vessel, a broken cot, a rooster, a dog, and a tree growing inside the house > — all these are held inauspicious. In a cracked vessel, they say, dwells Kali (strife); in a broken cot, > loss of wealth; where there are a rooster and a dog, the gods do not accept the offering; at a tree's > root there is surely a creature (a snake) — therefore one should not plant a tree inside the house." > *(Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana-parva 127.15–16, in Bhavan Bhāskar)*