Chanakya Niti — Liberation and Truth, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

पादशेषं पीतशेषं सन्ध्याशेषं तथैव च ।

श्वानमूत्रसमं तोयं पीत्वा चान्द्रायणं चरेत् ॥

Transliteration

pādaśeṣaṃ pītaśeṣaṃ sandhyāśeṣaṃ tathaiva ca |

śvānamūtrasamaṃ toyaṃ pītvā cāndrāyaṇaṃ caret ||

Translation

पायधुण्यानंतर उरलेले पाणी, पिल्यानंतर उरलेले पाणी आणि संध्याकर्मानंतर उरलेले पाणी—हे कुत्र्याच्या मूत्रासमान मानले आहे; ते पिऊन चांद्रायण प्रायश्चित्त करावे.

Word by Word

• पादशेषम्: (food) left over from another’s plate/foot (i.e., leavings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पादशेष
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पीतशेषम्: leftover after drinking (dregs)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीतशेष
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सन्ध्याशेषम्: what remains at twilight (twilight-leavings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन्ध्याशेष
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तथा: thus, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा
• Form: अव्यय

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव
• Form: अव्यय

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: अव्यय

• श्वानमूत्रसमम्: equal to dog’s urine
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वानमूत्रसम
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तोयम्: water
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पीत्वा: having drunk
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (पिबति)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), अव्ययभाव

• चान्द्रायणम्: the Cāndrāyaṇa penance
• Type: Noun
• Root: चान्द्रायण
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• चरेत्: should perform/practise
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर्
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

• Chanakya (Kautilya)

Meter

• अनुष्टुप्

Tags

• Ancient Ethics
• Ritual Purity
• Sanskrit Literature
• Historical Philosophy

Entities Mentioned

• Sandhyā (twilight rite)
• Cāndrāyaṇa (penance)
• Dog (as a ritual-purity comparator)
• Water (tóya)

FAQs

What is the historical context of this verse?

The verse reflects premodern South Asian purity-and-expiation discourse, where specific kinds of leftover water are classified within a hierarchy of ritual cleanliness. Its presence in a nīti-style compilation illustrates how ethical instruction and social discipline could incorporate concepts more commonly elaborated in Dharmaśāstra and ritual manuals.

How does the text define the topic of ritual impurity in this specific verse?

Ritual impurity is presented through a comparative marker: certain categories of residual water (from foot-washing, drinking, and twilight rites) are rhetorically equated with a highly impure substance (dog’s urine). The verse then links the transgression of consuming such water to a recognized expiation (Cāndrāyaṇa), framing impurity as something addressable through prescribed observance.

What is the linguistic or metaphorical significance of this shloka?

The compound formations (pāda-śeṣa, pīta-śeṣa, sandhyā-śeṣa) categorize ‘remainders’ (śeṣa) by context, a common Sanskrit technique for ritual taxonomy. The simile śvāna-mūtra-sama (“comparable to dog’s urine”) functions as a strong rhetorical boundary-marker, using an animal-associated impurity trope to intensify the prohibition and justify the ensuing mention of expiation.