Shloka 60

Brahmin Right Conduct: Morning Remembrance, Bathing, Purification, and Tarpaṇa Method

Devanagari script

स्रवंति सर्वतीर्थानि तस्मान्न परिपीडयेत् । देवाः पिबंति शिरसि श्मश्रुतः पितरस्तथा

Transliteration

sravaṃti sarvatīrthāni tasmānna paripīḍayet | devāḥ pibaṃti śirasi śmaśrutaḥ pitarastathā

Translation

അവിടെ സർവ്വ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളും ഒഴുകുന്നു; അതിനാൽ അതിനെ പീഡിപ്പിക്കുകയോ ഹാനിപ്പെടുത്തുകയോ അരുത്. ദേവന്മാർ ശിരസ്സിൽ പാനം ചെയ്യുന്നു; പിതൃഗണങ്ങൾ താടിയിൽ നിന്നു പാനം ചെയ്യുന്നു.

Word by Word

• स्रवन्ति: flow
• स्रवन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्रव् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• सर्वतीर्थानि: all sacred waters/holy places (tīrthas)
• सर्वतीर्थानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that
• तस्मात्: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), पञ्चमी (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); अव्ययीभावार्थे ‘therefore/from that’

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• परिपीडयेत्: should not afflict/press
• परिपीडयेत्: Kriya (Injunction/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + पीड् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• देवाः: the gods
• देवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• पिबन्ति: drink
• पिबन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• शिरसि: on the head
• शिरसि: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• श्मश्रुतः: from the beard/moustache (area)
• श्मश्रुतः: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मश्रु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), पञ्चमी (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); ‘from the beard/moustache region’ (reading as śmaśrutaḥ)

• पितरः: the Pitṛs/ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: Sambandha/Upamāna (Similarly)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Unspecified (context-dependent within Adhyaya 49; likely a narrator/teacher voice in the dialogue tradition)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: tirtha

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: तस्मान्न = तस्मात् + न; श्मश्रुतः taken as śmaśrutaḥ (abl. sg.) per transmitted text.

Characters & Entities

• Devāḥ
• Pitaraḥ (Pitṛs)

FAQs

What does this verse imply about the location of all tīrthas?

It presents a sacred-physiological symbolism: all tīrthas are said to ‘flow’ there (i.e., in the sanctified locus being described), making it a concentrated seat of purity and pilgrimage merit.

Why does the verse mention gods drinking at the head and Pitṛs from the beard?

It uses ritual symbolism to mark distinct divine and ancestral realms of nourishment/offerings—gods associated with the head (higher, celestial) and Pitṛs with the beard (ancestral/ritual lineage), emphasizing sanctity and proper reverence.

What ethical instruction does the verse give?

Because it is a bearer of sacred tīrthas, it should not be harmed, oppressed, or treated harshly—teaching non-injury and reverence toward what is considered holy.