Shloka 4

Saṅkara-jāti-nirṇaya and Gṛhastha-ācāra: Daily Rites, Purity, Anadhyāya, and Food Discipline

Devanagari script

शूद्राज्जातस्तु चाण्डालः सर्ववर्णविगर्हितः / क्षत्त्रिया मागधं वैश्याच्छूद्रा क्षत्तारमेव च

Transliteration

śūdrājjātastu cāṇḍālaḥ sarvavarṇavigarhitaḥ / kṣattriyā māgadhaṃ vaiśyācchūdrā kṣattārameva ca

Translation

शूद्र से चाण्डाल उत्पन्न होता है, जो सभी वर्णों द्वारा निन्दित है। क्षत्रिया स्त्री से मागध, और वैश्य स्त्री में शूद्र से क्षत्तार उत्पन्न होता है।

Word by Word

• शूद्रात्: from a śūdra (father)
• शूद्रात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• जातः: born
• जातः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त—“born”

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—विशेष/विरोधार्थक

• चाण्डालः: Cāṇḍāla
• चाण्डालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाण्डाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सर्ववर्णविगर्हितः: reviled by all castes
• सर्ववर्णविगर्हितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + वर्ण + विगर्हित (कृदन्त; गर्ह् धातोः क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त—“reviled by all varṇas”

• क्षत्रियायाम्: in a kṣatriya woman
• क्षत्रियायाम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• मागधम्: Māgadha
• मागधम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मागध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (जातिवाचक)

• वैश्यात्: from a vaiśya (father)
• वैश्यात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• शूद्रायाम्: in a śūdra woman
• शूद्रायाम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूद्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• क्षत्तारम्: Kṣattā (attendant/servitor caste)
• क्षत्तारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्तार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (जातिवाचक)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—अवधारण (emphasis)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—समुच्चय (and)

Speaker

Lord Viṣṇu (teaching Garuḍa)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Saṅkara-jāti listing includes explicit social condemnation (sarva-varṇa-vigarhita) and further named categories (Māgadha, Kṣattāra) from specified unions.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma as societal regulation with punitive/pejorative valuations; not a mokṣa-oriented passage.

Application: Recognize the text’s prescriptive and exclusionary social judgments as historically situated; in modern ethics, reject dehumanizing censure and uphold equal rights while studying the tradition critically.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.96.1–1.96.4 (continuous saṅkara-jāti list; this verse contains the strongest censure language).

Characters & Entities

• Cāṇḍāla
• Māgadha
• Kṣattāra
• Śūdra
• Kṣatriya
• Vaiśya

FAQs

What is the importance of varna-related teachings in the Garuda Purana?

In the Ācāra Kāṇḍa, such verses function as normative dharma guidance, describing traditional social/legal categories used in older Dharmaśāstra frameworks rather than afterlife mechanics.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

This verse does not describe the soul’s journey; it belongs to conduct-oriented instruction (ācāra), listing traditional birth-based designations used for social regulation in that textual milieu.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Read it as a historical dharma classification within the text’s context, and apply the broader ethical thrust of the Purāṇa—self-discipline, compassion, and non-harm—rather than using it to justify discrimination.