Shloka 26

Kārttika-vrata Discipline: Purity Rules, Morning Bath Saṅkalpa, Tilaka Injunctions, and Food Prohibitions

Devanagari script

ताले शरीरनाशः स्यान्नारिकेले च मूर्खता । तुंबी गोमांसतुल्या स्याद्गोवधं स्यात्कलिंदके

Transliteration

tāle śarīranāśaḥ syānnārikele ca mūrkhatā | tuṃbī gomāṃsatulyā syādgovadhaṃ syātkaliṃdake

Translation

താലഫലം കഴിച്ചാൽ ശരീരനാശം ഉണ്ടാകുമെന്നു പറയുന്നു; നാളികേരം മൂഢത ഉണ്ടാക്കും. തുംബീ (ചുരക്ക) ഗോമാംസസമം എന്നു പറഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നു; കലിന്ദകം ഗോഹത്യാസമ പാപം വരുത്തും.

Word by Word

• tāle: in the case of tāla (palm fruit)
• tāle: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Saptamī vibhakti (7th/सप्तमी), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन), Puṃ-liṅga (Masculine/पुंलिङ्ग); locative: "in/with (eating) tāla (palm fruit)"

• śarīranāśaḥ: destruction of the body
• śarīranāśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīra (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन), Puṃ-liṅga; tatpuruṣa: śarīra-nāśa = "destruction of the body"

• syāt: would occur/is (said to be)
• syāt: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (Optative/विधिलिङ्), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person/प्रथमपुरुष), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन), Parasmaipada; "would be/should be"

• nārikele: in the case of coconut
• nārikele: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārikelā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Saptamī vibhakti (7th/सप्तमी), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन), Puṃ-liṅga; locative: "in the case of coconut"

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction/समुच्चय-निपात): "and"

• mūrkhatā: foolishness
• mūrkhatā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrkha (प्रातिपदिक) + tā (तद्धित प्रत्यय)
• Form: Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन), Strī-liṅga; abstract noun: "foolishness"

• tuṃbī: bottle-gourd (tuṃbī)
• tuṃbī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tuṃbī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन), Strī-liṅga

• gomāṃsatulyā: equivalent to cow-meat
• gomāṃsatulyā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक) + tulya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन), Strī-liṅga; tatpuruṣa: go-māṃsa = "cow-meat"; whole: go-māṃsa-tulyā = "equal to cow-meat"; agrees with tuṃbī

• syāt: would be/is (said to be)
• syāt: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (Optative/विधिलिङ्), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• govadham: cow-slaughter
• govadham: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + vadha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Prathamā/Dvitīyā vibhakti (1st/2nd), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन), Puṃ-liṅga; tatpuruṣa: go-vadha = "killing of a cow"

• syāt: would be/is (said to be)
• syāt: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (Optative/विधिलिङ्), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• kaliṃdake: in the case of kaliṃdaka
• kaliṃdake: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaliṃdaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Saptamī vibhakti (7th/सप्तमी), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन), Puṃ-liṅga; locative: "in the case of kaliṃdaka" (a plant/vegetable name)

Speaker

Unspecified in the provided excerpt (context needed from surrounding verses)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: syānnārikele = syāt + nārikele; syādgovadham = syāt + govadham; syātkaliṃdake = syāt + kaliṃdake

FAQs

What is the core teaching of this verse?

It assigns negative spiritual or ethical consequences to consuming certain foods, culminating in strong cow-protection symbolism (equating an item with beef and another with cow-killing).

Does this verse promote a specific ethical principle?

Yes—its strongest ethical signal is reverence for the cow and avoidance of actions symbolically linked with violence (hiṃsā), aligning with broader dharma and ahiṃsā ideals.

Why are foods compared to “beef” or “cow-killing” here?

Such comparisons function as rhetorical intensifiers in dharma literature: by linking an item to a grave sin (go-hatyā), the text discourages its use within the intended ritual/ethical framework of the passage.