Shloka 80

Adhyaya 34 — Duties of Women

Sanskrit

स्त्रीजन्मपरिहारार्थं पञ्चमीमपि वर्जयेत् ।

ततः षष्ठ्यां व्रजेन्नात्र्याṃ श्रेष्ठा युगमासु पुत्रक ॥

Transliteration

strījanmaparihārārthaṃ pañcamīm api varjayet / tataḥ ṣaṣṭhyāṃ vrajed rātryāṃ śreṣṭhā yugamāsu putraka

Translation

ഇവിടെ പറഞ്ഞ ലക്ഷ്യപ്രകാരം പുത്രിജനനം ഒഴിവാക്കുവാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നവൻ അഞ്ചാം രാത്രിയും ഒഴിവാക്കണം. തുടർന്ന് ആറാം രാത്രിയിൽ സമീപിക്കണം; സമസംഖ്യയായ രാത്രികളിൽ അവയേ ശ്രേഷ്ഠമെന്ന് പറയുന്നു, പ്രിയ ശിശുവേ।

Word by Word

स्त्रीजन्मपरिहारार्थम्for the purpose of avoiding (a) female birth

पञ्चमीम्the fifth (tithi)

अपिalso

वर्जयेत्should avoid

ततःthen

षष्ठ्याम्on the sixth (tithi)

व्रजेत्should go/approach

रात्र्याम्at night

श्रेष्ठाbest

युगमासुon even nights

पुत्रकO dear son

Speakers

Didactic narrator within Markandeya Purana (instructional passage; not Devi Māhātmya frame)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

DharmaGṛhastha-ācāraConception rites (ṛtu-kāla notions)Traditional gender preference (textual)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The passage reflects a traditional belief that timing of conception influences the child’s sex; ethically, it shows how purāṇic gṛhastha-dharma often mixes moral instruction with period medical/ritual theories.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Not pañcalakṣaṇa; it is social/ritual instruction (ācāra).

What is the esoteric significance?

Even if read symbolically, ‘even nights’ can indicate harmony/regularity; the deeper thrust is regulation of desire through calendrical discipline.