Shloka 38

Dietary Rules & Purification — Dietary Rules, Purification (Śauca), and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller

Devanagari script

यो नित्यकर्मणो हानिं कुर्यान्नैमित्तिकस्य च भुक्त्वान्नं तस्य शुद्ध्येत त्रिरात्रोपोषितो नरः

Transliteration

yo nityakarmaṇo hāniṃ kuryānnaimittikasya ca bhuktvānnaṃ tasya śuddhyeta trirātropoṣito naraḥ

Translation

Wenn jemand das Unterlassen der täglichen Riten (nitya-karma) und auch der gelegentlichen Riten (naimittika) bewirkt, dann wird, wer seine Speise gegessen hat, durch Fasten von drei Nächten gereinigt.

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• नित्य-कर्मणः: of daily duties
• नित्य-कर्मणः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नित्य + कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; नित्यकर्मन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (नित्यं कर्म = daily duty)

• हानिम्: omission / loss
• हानिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हानि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (loss/omission)

• कुर्यात्: should commit (make)
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद (should do/make)

• नैमित्तिकस्य: of occasional (rites)
• नैमित्तिकस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नैमित्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; विशेषण (of occasional/conditional rite)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• भुक्त्वा: having eaten
• भुक्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भुज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त; पूर्वकाल (having eaten)

• अन्नम्: food
• अन्नम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• तस्य: of him / thereby
• तस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (of him/thereof)

• शुद्ध्येत: should be purified
• शुद्ध्येत: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √शुध् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (should become purified)

• त्रि-रात्र-उपोषितः: having fasted for three nights
• त्रि-रात्र-उपोषितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि + रात्र + उपोषित (कृदन्त; उप + √वस्/√उष्? here उपवासार्थे उपोषित from उपवास/उपोषण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (त्रीणि रात्राणि उपोषितः = having fasted for three nights)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speakers

• Not specified in input (commonly framed as Pulastya ↔ Nārada)

Key Themes

• Nitya-karma
• Naimittika-karma
• Prāyaścitta
• Fasting (upoṣaṇa)
• Ritual discipline

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ritual discipline is presented as socially consequential: neglect of obligatory duties affects not only the doer but those who partake in his dependency-network (e.g., food). The remedy—three-night fasting—emphasizes self-restraint as a means to restore purity and mindfulness.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is dharma/ācāra material (prāyaścitta and karma-niyama) embedded in a purāṇic chapter; it is not directly one of the five pancalakṣaṇa categories, though it can appear alongside vamśānucarita/manvantara narratives as prescriptive teaching.

What is the symbolic significance?

“Three nights” can symbolize a complete cycle of restraint sufficient to reset conduct and intention. The linkage of purity to ‘food of the negligent’ symbolically frames nourishment as inseparable from the ethical order (ṛta/dharma).