Vamana Purana — Rules of Purity (Shauca), Shloka 51

Rules of Purity (Śauca), Permissible Foods, and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller

Devanagari script

सदैव जर्ज्यं शयनमुदक्शिरास् तथा प्रतीच्यां रजनीचरेश भुञ्जीत नैवेह च दक्षिणामुखो न च प्रतीच्यामभिभोजनीयम्

Transliteration

sadaiva jarjyaṃ śayanamudakśirās tathā pratīcyāṃ rajanīcareśa bhuñjīta naiveha ca dakṣiṇāmukho na ca pratīcyāmabhibhojanīyam

Translation

頭を北に向けて眠ることは常に避けるべきであり、また頭を西に向けて眠ることも避けるべきである、夜行の者らの主よ。食事は南を向いてしてはならず、西を向いて食することもまたなしてはならない。

Word by Word

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (काल-अव्यय)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निपात)

• jarjyam: to be avoided / improper
• jarjyam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jarjya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st), Singular; predicate adjective

• śayanam: sleeping / lying down
• śayanam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st), Singular

• udak-śirāḥ: having the head to the north
• udak-śirāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udak (प्रातिपदिक) + śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; बहुव्रीहिः ‘यस्य शिरः उदक् (उत्तर) तस्य’ = ‘with head to the north’

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (प्रकार-अव्यय)

• pratīcyām: towards the west / in the west
• pratīcyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratīcī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th), Singular

• rajanīcara-īśa: O lord of night-wanderers (epithet)
• rajanīcara-īśa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajanīcara (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th), Singular; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी) ‘रजनीचराणाम् ईशः’

• bhuñjīta: should eat
• bhuñjīta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (भुज् धातु)
• Form: Optative/विधिलिङ्, 3rd Person, Singular; Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/negation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle

• eva: at all / indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निपात)

• iha: here
• iha: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: Deictic adverb (देश-अव्यय)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction particle

• dakṣiṇā-mukhaḥ: facing south
• dakṣiṇā-mukhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; बहुव्रीहिः ‘यस्य मुखं दक्षिणा’ = ‘facing south’

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/negation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction particle

• pratīcyām: towards the west / in the west
• pratīcyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratīcī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th), Singular

• abhibhojanīyam: to be eaten/partaken (prohibited here)
• abhibhojanīyam: Vidhi (विधि/niyama)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-bhuj (भुज् धातु)
• Form: Gerundive/भाव्य (अनीयर्-प्रत्यय), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative Singular; ‘should not be eaten/partaken (there)’

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical narrative frame; vocative ‘rajanīcareśa’ appears in the verse)

Key Themes

• Vrata/Rituals
• Dharma (Ācāra)
• Directional auspiciousness
• Householder discipline

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ācāra extends dharma into the smallest habits. Directional discipline trains attentiveness and reverence for order (ṛta), turning routine acts into regulated, sattva-supporting conduct.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Ancillary ācāra instruction; not part of sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita. It exemplifies Purāṇas as living manuals of dharma alongside mythic history.

What is the symbolic significance?

Directions are ritually charged: south is associated with Yama and funerary symbolism in many dharma traditions, hence avoidance for eating; north and west carry other auspiciousness constraints in certain ācāra streams. The rules encode a sacralized orientation to space.