Shloka 73

गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः

Devanagari script

अस्नाताशी मलं भुङ्क्ते ह्य् अजपी पूयशोणितम् असंस्कृतान्नभुङ् मूत्रं बालादिप्रथमं शकृत्

Transliteration

asnātāśī malaṃ bhuṅkte hy ajapī pūyaśoṇitam asaṃskṛtānnabhuṅ mūtraṃ bālādiprathamaṃ śakṛt

Translation

One who eats without bathing is as though consuming filth; one who performs no japa is as though drinking pus and blood. And one who eats food not duly sanctified is as though drinking urine—like an infant’s first excrement and the like.

Word by Word

• अस्नाताशी: one who eats without bathing
• अस्नाताशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-स्नात-आशी (प्रातिपदिक: स्नात + आशी; नञ्-पूर्वक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘अस्नातः आशी’—who eats without bathing

• मलम्: filth
• मलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• भुङ्क्ते: eats
• भुङ्क्ते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधान/हेतु-भाव (indeed/for)

• अजपी: one who does not perform japa
• अजपी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-जपी (प्रातिपदिक: जपी; नञ्-पूर्वक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘अजपी’—one who does not mutter (japa-less)

• पूयशोणितम्: pus and blood
• पूयशोणितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूय-शोणित (प्रातिपदिक: पूय + शोणित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (pus and blood)

• असंस्कृतान्नभुक्: one who eats unpurified food
• असंस्कृतान्नभुक्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-संस्कृत-अन्न-भुज् (प्रातिपदिक: संस्कृत + अन्न + भुज्; नञ्-पूर्वक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘असंस्कृतं अन्नं भुङ्क्ते’—eater of unpurified food

• मूत्रम्: urine
• मूत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• बालादिप्रथमम्: first/initial (like that of a child etc.)
• बालादिप्रथमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बाल-आदि-प्रथम (प्रातिपदिक: बाल + आदि + प्रथम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण—शकृत्/मूत्रम्; ‘बालादौ प्रथमम्’ (first, like that of a child etc.)

• शकृत्: feces
• शकृत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शकृत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (पद-रूपम्: शकृत्)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Neglect of snāna, japa, and saṃskāra of food is equated with ingesting impurity, stressing that bodily and mental discipline safeguards dharma.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Keep a simple pre-meal purity routine (cleanliness, brief mantra/japa, mindful offering) to prevent impulsive consumption.

Vishishtadvaita: Daily disciplines (nitya-karma) prepare the jīva to relate to the Supreme as śeṣa (dependent), making even eating an act ordered toward Him.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of bathing and japa in this Vishnu Purana verse?

They are presented as essential disciplines that purify body and mind; neglecting them is described as spiritually degrading, undermining one’s capacity for dharmic life and devotion.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of impurity here?

Parāśara uses stark bodily metaphors (filth, pus, blood, urine) to show that careless habits—eating unbathed, skipping japa, consuming unsanctified food—create inner and outer impurity that obstructs dharma.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the teaching frames discipline and purity as supports for a life oriented toward the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose order is upheld through dharmic conduct.