Shloka 89

The Account of Women

Householder Ethics, Fault, Merit, and Govinda-Nāma as Purification

Devanagari script

रौरवं नरकं प्राप्य चांडालत्वं च गच्छति । अतएव हि शुल्कं च जामातुर्न कदाचन

Transliteration

rauravaṃ narakaṃ prāpya cāṃḍālatvaṃ ca gacchati | ataeva hi śulkaṃ ca jāmāturna kadācana

Translation

അവൻ റൗരവ നരകം പ്രാപിച്ച് ചാണ്ഡാലത്വത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുന്നു. അതിനാൽ മരുമകനിൽ നിന്ന് കന്യാശുല്കം ഒരിക്കലും സ്വീകരിക്കരുത്.

Word by Word

• रौरवम्: Raurava (a hell)
• रौरवम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रौरव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म/गति), एकवचन

• नरकम्: hell
• नरकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म/गति), एकवचन

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+आप् (धातु) → प्राप्य (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्)
• Form: अव्ययभावः; क्त्वान्त (ल्यप्) absolutive/gerund; पूर्वकालिकक्रिया

• चाण्डालत्वम्: the state of being a caṇḍāla
• चाण्डालत्वम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाण्डाल + त्व (प्रातिपदिक; तद्धितान्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; भाववाचक-तद्धित (त्व)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः (conjunction)

• गच्छति: goes/attains
• गच्छति: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) (परस्मैपद)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present); प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अत: therefore
• अत: Hetu (हेतु/कारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत (अव्यय)
• Form: हेत्वर्थक-अव्यय (ablatival adverb: 'therefore/from that')

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपातः (emphasis/only)

• हि: for/indeed
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ/निश्चये निपातः (causal/emphatic particle)

• शुल्कम्: bride-price/fee
• शुल्कम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुल्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः (conjunction)

• जामातुः: of the son-in-law
• जामातुः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जामातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः (negation particle)

• कदाचन: ever/at any time
• कदाचन: Kāla (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचन (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: 'ever/at any time')

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator/teacher voice within Adhyaya 52; not identifiable from the single verse alone)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Geographic Context

Type: celestial_realm

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: चांडालत्वं = चाण्डालत्वम्; अतएव = अत + एव; जामातुर्न = जामातुः + न

Characters & Entities

• Raurava

FAQs

What is the main ethical teaching of this verse?

It condemns taking a bride-price (śulka) from a prospective son-in-law, presenting it as a serious adharma with severe karmic consequences.

What is “Raurava” in this context?

Raurava is named as a hell (naraka) in Purāṇic cosmology, invoked here as a consequence for unethical conduct.

How does this verse relate to dharma around marriage?

It frames the giving of a daughter as a dharmic act that should not be commercialized; demanding payment from the groom’s side is portrayed as morally corrupting.