Shloka 25

Dietary Rules & Purification — Duties of the Ashrama System

Devanagari script

अभोज्याः सूतिकाषण्ढमार्जाराखुश्वकुक्कुटाः पतितापविद्धनग्नाश्चाण्डालाद्यधमाश्च ये

Transliteration

abhojyāḥ sūtikāṣaṇḍhamārjārākhuśvakukkuṭāḥ patitāpaviddhanagnāścāṇḍālādyadhamāśca ye

Translation

Those from whom food should not be accepted (abhojya) are: a woman in the post-partum period, a ṣaṇḍha (one unfit/ineffective in dharma), and also cat, rat, dog, and cock; likewise the fallen, the defiled or outcaste, the naked, and base persons beginning with the caṇḍāla.

Word by Word

• अभोज्याः: unfit to be eaten with / untouchable for dining
• अभोज्याः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभोज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण ("भोज्य"-विरुद्ध)

• सूतिका-षण्ढ-मार्जार-आखु-श्व-कुक्कुटाः: women in childbirth, eunuchs, cats, rats, dogs, and cocks
• सूतिका-षण्ढ-मार्जार-आखु-श्व-कुक्कुटाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूतिका + षण्ढ + मार्जार + आखु + श्वन् + कुक्कुट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (enumerative copulative)

• पतित-अपविद्ध-नग्नाः: the fallen, the outcast/rejected, and the naked
• पतित-अपविद्ध-नग्नाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पतित + अपविद्ध + नग्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व ("पतिताश्च अपविद्धाश्च नग्नाश्च")

• चाण्डाल-आदि-अधमाः: the lowest such as Caṇḍālas and others
• चाण्डाल-आदि-अधमाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाण्डाल + आदि + अधम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष ("चाण्डालादयः अधमाः")

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• ये: who/which
• ये: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

Speakers

• Not explicit in this verse (continuation of instruction in the dialogue framework).

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Vrata/Rituals
• Food purity (anna-śauca)
• Social/ritual classification

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse encodes a traditional purity regime: food is treated as a carrier of social and ritual influence. Ethically, it reflects an ideal of guarding one’s sāttvika discipline through regulated intake; historically, it also preserves boundaries that later readers may find socially exclusionary.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa?

It is ancillary dharma/ācāra material embedded in a purāṇic chapter (not a core pancalakṣaṇa item like vaṃśa or manvantara). Such lists commonly appear in tīrtha-māhātmya sections to standardize conduct for pilgrims.

What is the symbolic significance?

‘Abhojya’ operates symbolically as a warning about assimilating qualities through consumption and companionship. The animal list (cat/rat/dog/cock) signals scavenging/impurity associations in classical Indian codes, while the human categories mark perceived disruptions to ritual order.