Shloka 4

Rules of Food, Acceptance, and Purity for the Twice-Born

Dvija-Śauca and Anna-Doṣa

Devanagari script

राजान्नं नर्तकान्नं च तक्ष्णो ऽन्नं चर्मकारिणः / गणान्नं गणिकान्नं च षण्ढान्नं चैव वर्जयेत्

Transliteration

rājānnaṃ nartakānnaṃ ca takṣṇo 'nnaṃ carmakāriṇaḥ / gaṇānnaṃ gaṇikānnaṃ ca ṣaṇḍhānnaṃ caiva varjayet

Translation

Man soll Speise meiden, die man von einem König, von Tänzern, von einem Zimmermann und von einem Lederarbeiter erhält; ebenso Speise von gaṇa (Tempeldienern), von einer gaṇikā (Kurtisane) und von einem ṣaṇḍha (Eunuchen/Impotenten) — all dies ist zu meiden.

Word by Word

• rāja-annam: king’s food
• rāja-annam: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (rājñaḥ annam)

• nartaka-annam: dancer’s food
• nartaka-annam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nartaka + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• takṣṇaḥ: of a carpenter
• takṣṇaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: takṣan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन

• annam: food
• annam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• carmakāriṇaḥ: of a leather-worker
• carmakāriṇaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: carmakārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन

• gaṇa-annam: food of a troupe/group
• gaṇa-annam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• gaṇikā-annam: courtesan’s food
• gaṇikā-annam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇikā + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• ṣaṇḍha-annam: eunuch’s food
• ṣaṇḍha-annam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṇḍha + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• varjayet: should avoid
• varjayet: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing sages on dharma (dietary purity as a support for sādhana)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Lord Kūrma
• Varnāśrama Dharma
• Āhāra-śuddhi

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

Indirectly: it teaches āhāra-śuddhi (purity of intake) as a dharmic support for sattva and mental clarity, which are prerequisites for steady contemplation of the Self (ātma-jñāna) in later, more explicitly yogic teachings.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse highlights preparatory discipline rather than a technique: regulating one’s sources of food to preserve ritual and psychological purity, a common foundation for japa, dhyāna, and Pāśupata-oriented sādhana emphasized elsewhere in the Kūrma Purāṇa.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

By presenting dharma and purity-observances as universal supports for spiritual practice, it aligns with the Purāṇa’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis: the same ethical and purificatory foundations are upheld for devotion and yoga directed to Īśvara, whether articulated through Vishnu (Kūrma) or Shiva-centered disciplines.