Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अंगिरा उवाच अशुचिर्त्रह्मकूटो<स्तु श्वानं च परिकर्षतु । ब्रह्महानिकृतिश्चास्तु यस्ते हरति पुष्करम्‌,अंगिराने कहा--जो आपका कमल ले गया हो, वह अपवित्र, वेदको मिथ्या बतानेवाला, ब्रह्महत्यारा और अपने पापोंका प्रायश्चित्त न करनेवाला हो। इतना ही नहीं, वह कुत्तोंकोी साथ लेकर शिकार खेलता फिरे, अर्थात्‌ उपर्युक्त पापोंका भागी हो

Transliteration

aṅgirā uvāca | aśucir brahmakūṭo 'stu śvānaṃ ca parikarṣatu | brahmahānikṛtiś cāstu yas te harati puṣkaram ||

Translation

Aṅgirā said: “May the one who has taken away your lotus become impure; may he be a reviler of the Veda; may he be marked as a slayer of a brāhmaṇa; and may he drag dogs about with him—bearing the stain and consequence of such sins.”

Word by Word

अङ्गिराःAṅgiras (the sage)

उवाचsaid

अशुचिःimpure

ब्रह्मकूटःone who reviles/denies the Veda (lit. 'one who strikes at brahman')

अस्तुlet him be

श्वानम्a dog

चand

परिकर्षतुlet him drag/haul about

ब्रह्महाslayer of a brāhmaṇa

अनिकृतिःone who has not made expiation (non-expiation)

चand

अस्तुlet him be

यःwho

तेof you/your

हरतिsteals/carries off

पुष्करम्lotus (here: your lotus)

Speaker

अंगिरा उवाच

Characters & Entities

Aṅgirā

puṣkara (lotus)

dogs (śvānaḥ)

Character Dynamics

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 underscores that theft—especially of a valued or symbolically charged object—invites severe moral and social consequences, framed through traditional categories of impurity, anti-Vedic conduct, brahmahatyā-like stigma, and the burden of failing to perform expiation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Aṅgirā pronounces an imprecation against the person who has taken the addressee’s lotus, wishing upon the thief a cluster of degrading conditions and grave sin-markers, thereby emphasizing accountability and the weight of wrongdoing.