Shloka 46

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

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मणानामहोरात्रं क्षत्रियाणां दिनत्रयम षड्रात्रं चैव वैश्यानां शूद्राणां द्वादशाह्निकम्

Transliteration

brahmaṇānāmahorātraṃ kṣatriyāṇāṃ dinatrayama ṣaḍrātraṃ caiva vaiśyānāṃ śūdrāṇāṃ dvādaśāhnikam

Translation

For Brāhmaṇas the period is one day and night; for Kṣatriyas, three days; for Vaiśyas, six nights; and for Śūdras, a period of twelve days.

Word by Word

• brahmaṇānām: of Brahmins
• brahmaṇānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural; ‘of Brahmins’

• ahaḥ-rātram: a day and a night
• ahaḥ-rātram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + rātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः ‘a day-and-night (period)’

• kṣatriyāṇām: of Kshatriyas
• kṣatriyāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣatriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural

• dina-trayam: three days
• dina-trayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; द्विगु-समासः ‘three days’

• ṣaṭ-rātram: six nights
• ṣaṭ-rātram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + rātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; द्विगु-समासः ‘six nights’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction particle (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक अव्यय)

• vaiśyānām: of Vaishyas
• vaiśyānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural

• śūdrāṇām: of Shudras
• śūdrāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural

• dvādaśa-ahnikam: a twelve-day period
• dvādaśa-ahnikam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + ahnika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; द्विगु-समासः ‘twelve-day period’

Speakers

• Unspecified in input (often Pulastya → Nārada framework)

Key Themes

• Vrata/Rituals
• Śauca-Aśauca
• Varṇa-based dharma norms

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse presents a graded ritual timetable intended to standardize social practice; it reflects a classical dharma framework where duties and observances are differentiated by social role.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

It is not a pañcalakṣaṇa unit; it is prescriptive dharma material (ācāra), embedded within Purāṇic teaching sections.

What is the symbolic significance?

The increasing durations function as a symbolic scale of restraint and reintegration into ritual life, expressing the Purāṇic concern for maintaining communal order through shared observances.