Shloka 24

चाण्डालीसद्गतिवर्णनम् (Cāṇḍālī-sadgati-varṇanam) — “Account of the Cāṇḍālī’s Attainment of a Good Destiny”

Devanagari script

अथासावपि चांडाली वसनासनतृष्णया । महाजनान् याचयितुं संचचार शनैः शनैः

Transliteration

athāsāvapi cāṃḍālī vasanāsanatṛṣṇayā | mahājanān yācayituṃ saṃcacāra śanaiḥ śanaiḥ

Translation

Then that Caṇḍālī woman too, driven by longing for clothing and a place to sit, went about slowly, seeking to beg from respectable people.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (then/now)

• असौ: she (that woman)
• असौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; कर्ता

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय/अपि-भाव (also)

• चाण्डाली: the Caṇḍāla woman
• चाण्डाली: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाण्डाली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्ता (apposition to ‘असौ’)

• वसन-आसन-तृष्णया: due to craving for clothing and food
• वसन-आसन-तृष्णया: Hetu (हेतु) / Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसन (प्रातिपदिक) + आसन (प्रातिपदिक) + तृष्णा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्वन्द्वसमासपूर्वपदसमाहार + तृष्णा; करण/हेतु (instrumental: due to desire)

• महाजनान्: eminent people
• महाजनान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्म (those to be begged from)

• याचयितुम्: to beg; to request
• याचयितुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Verb
• Root: याच् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त infinitive (भावे), ‘to beg/request’

• संचचार: wandered about; moved around
• संचचार: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• शनैः: slowly
• शनैः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शनैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: slowly)

• शनैः: slowly (again, for emphasis)
• शनैः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शनैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, पुनरुक्ति (reduplication for emphasis)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It highlights human vulnerability and the karmic condition of embodied life—hunger, need, and dependence—setting the stage for dharma (charity, compassion) and the possibility of upliftment through Shiva-bhakti.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Though the verse is narrative, it supports a key Shaiva teaching: Saguna Shiva, worshipped as the Linga, receives offerings and devotion that purify the heart, and that same purified heart expresses itself outwardly as compassion toward the needy.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is dāna with remembrance of Shiva—offer food/clothing as a Shiva-sevā, while mentally repeating the Panchakshara mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” cultivating humility and non-contempt.