Shloka 20

Devanagari script

तेन शूद्रान्नशेषेण ब्रह्म॒स्थानादपाकृत: । ब्राह्मण: शूद्रतामेति नास्ति तत्र विचारणा,उदरमें शूद्रात्नरक शेषभाग स्थित होनेके कारण ब्राह्मण ब्रह्मलोकसे वंचित हो शूद्रभावको प्राप्त होता है; इसमें कोई अन्यथा विचार करनेकी आवश्यकता नहीं है

Transliteration

tena śūdrānnaśeṣeṇa brahmasthānād apākṛtaḥ | brāhmaṇaḥ śūdratām eti nāsti tatra vicāraṇā ||

Translation

Therefore, by subsisting on the leftover food of a Śūdra, a Brāhmaṇa is cast away from the Brahmanic state and loses access to the Brahma-world; he falls into the condition of a Śūdra. On this point, no alternative interpretation is to be entertained.

Word by Word

तेनby that; thereby

शूद्रान्नशेषेणby the remainder of Śūdra-food

ब्रह्मस्थानात्from the Brahma-place (Brahmaloka/status of Brahmanhood)

अपाकृतःremoved; excluded

ब्राह्मणःa Brahmin

शूद्रताम्Śūdra-hood; the state of being a Śūdra

एतिgoes to; attains

नnot

अस्तिis; exists

तत्रthere; in that matter

विचारणाconsideration; deliberation

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrīmaheśvara (Mahādeva/Śiva)

Brāhmaṇa

Śūdra

Brahmaloka (implied by the Hindi gloss: brahmaloka)

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts a strict dharmic rule: a Brāhmaṇa who eats the leftover food of a Śūdra incurs a grave loss of ritual-social standing, being said to fall from the Brahmanic state and become Śūdra-like; the text presents this as non-negotiable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrīmaheśvara is delivering an authoritative instruction on conduct (ācāra) and the consequences of violating food-related purity norms within varṇāśrama ethics, emphasizing that this particular consequence admits no exception.