Shloka 28

Adhyaya 35 — Madālasa’s Instruction on Purity, Impurity, and Corrective Rites (Śauca and Aśauca)

Sanskrit

उदक्याश्वशृगालादीन् सूतिकान्त्यवसायिनः ।

स्पृष्ट्वा स्नायीत शौचार्थं तथैव मृतहारिणः ॥

Transliteration

udakyāśva-śṛgālādīn sūtikānty-avasāyinaḥ | spṛṣṭvā snāyīta śaucārthaṃ tathaiva mṛta-hāriṇaḥ ||

Translation

من لمس امرأةً حائضًا، أو فرسًا، أو ابنَ آوى وما شابهه، أو امرأةً في الولادة أو النفاس، أو منبوذًا خارج الطبقات (avasāyin)، فعليه أن يغتسل طلبًا للطهارة؛ وكذلك بعد لمس من يحملون الميت.

Word by Word

• उदक्याः: menstruating women
• उदक्याः: कर्म (द्वितीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural

• अश्व: horses
• अश्व: कर्म (द्वितीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (in dvandva-like list)

• शृगाल: jackals
• शृगाल: कर्म (द्वितीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शृगाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (in list)

• आदीन्: and the like/others
• आदीन्: कर्म (द्वितीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural; ‘and others’

• सूतिका: a woman in childbirth
• सूतिका: सम्बन्ध
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूतिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (in compound sense with अन्त्य)

• अन्त्य: of the lowest/outcaste
• अन्त्य: विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (in compound sense)

• अवसायिनः: workers/people engaged in (impure) occupations
• अवसायिनः: कर्म (द्वितीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवसायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural; agent noun

• स्पृष्ट्वा: having touched
• स्पृष्ट्वा: क्रियाविशेषण (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्पृश् (धातु) → स्पृष्ट्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: अव्ययभाव (gerund/क्त्वा), prior action

• स्नायीत: should bathe
• स्नायीत: क्रिया (विधि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), आत्मनेपद, 3rd person, Singular

• शौच: for purity/cleanliness
• शौच: सम्प्रदान (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शौच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (in purpose-compound)

• अर्थम्: for the sake of
• अर्थम्: प्रयोजन (हेतु/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; प्रयोजन-तत्पुरुष: शौचस्य अर्थः

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: सम्बन्ध (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: सम्बन्ध (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• मृत: dead
• मृत: विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: PPP of मृ (धातु), used adjectivally; in compound sense with हारिन्

• हारिणः: those who carry (the dead)
• हारिणः: कर्म (द्वितीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural; ‘carriers’

Speakers

• Dharma-instructional narration within the Purāṇic discourse (speaker not specified in the provided excerpt)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "dharma", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Śauca (purity)
• Contact impurity
• Snāna (bath)
• Aśauca around death/birth

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text treats birth- and death-adjacent contexts as requiring heightened ritual care; bathing functions as a reset after liminal contact, reaffirming boundaries important to Vedic domestic rites.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/dharma instruction.

What is the esoteric significance?

Birth and death are thresholds where ordinary identity is destabilized; bathing symbolizes returning to centeredness and re-entry into ordered ritual life.