Shloka 98

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

Devanagari script

राज्ञस्तपस्विनां चैव पंगोरंधस्य योषितः । पंथा देयो ब्राह्मणाय गोभ्यो राजभ्य एव च

Transliteration

rājñastapasvināṃ caiva paṃgoraṃdhasya yoṣitaḥ | paṃthā deyo brāhmaṇāya gobhyo rājabhya eva ca

Translation

രാജാവിനും തപസ്വികൾക്കും കാൽമുടന്തർക്കും അന്ധർക്കും സ്ത്രീകൾക്കും വഴി വിട്ടുകൊടുക്കണം; അതുപോലെ ബ്രാഹ്മണനും പശുക്കൾക്കും രാജപുരുഷന്മാർക്കും കൂടി പഥം നൽകണം.

Word by Word

• rājñaḥ: of a king/to a king

• tapasvinām: of ascetics

• ca eva: and indeed

• paṅgoḥ: to the lame person

• andhasya: to the blind person

• yoṣitaḥ: to women

• panthā: the path/right of way

• deyaḥ: should be given/yielded

• brāhmaṇāya: to a brāhmaṇa

• gobhyaḥ: to cows

• rājabhyaḥ: to kings/royal persons

• eva ca: also indeed

Speaker

Not explicitly identifiable from the single verse (context needed from surrounding verses of Adhyaya 49).

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Geographic Context

Type: city

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Gauḥ (Cow)
• Rājā (King)
• Tapasvī (Ascetic)

FAQs

What ethical instruction does this verse give?

It teaches sadācāra (proper conduct): one should respectfully yield the path to socially and spiritually protected persons—kings and royal persons, ascetics, brāhmaṇas, women, the lame, the blind—and also to cows.

Why are cows and brāhmaṇas specifically mentioned?

In Purāṇic dharma literature, cows symbolize life-sustaining welfare (dharma and prosperity), and brāhmaṇas symbolize spiritual learning and ritual order; both are treated as especially worthy of protection and respect.

Is this verse about a sacred place (tīrtha) or about daily conduct?

This verse is primarily a rule of daily conduct (sadācāra) rather than a tīrtha description; it lists who should be given precedence on a path as an ethical norm.