Shloka 80

Adhyaya 34 — Madālāsā’s Instruction on Sadācāra (Householder Conduct, Purity, and Daily Rites)

Sanskrit

स्त्रीजन्मपरिहारार्थं पञ्चमीमपि वर्जयेत् ।

ततः षष्ठ्यां व्रजेन्नात्र्याṃ श्रेष्ठा युगमासु पुत्रक ॥

Transliteration

strījanmaparihārārthaṃ pañcamīm api varjayet / tataḥ ṣaṣṭhyāṃ vrajed rātryāṃ śreṣṭhā yugamāsu putraka

Translation

ఇక్కడ చెప్పిన ఉద్దేశ్యముతో కుమార్తె జననం నివారించాలనుకుంటే ఐదవ రాత్రినీ వర్జించాలి. ఆపై ఆరవ రాత్రి సమీపించాలి; జత సంఖ్య రాత్రుల్లో అవే శ్రేష్ఠమని చెప్పబడుతున్నాయి, ప్రియ శిశువా।

Word by Word

स्त्रीजन्मपरिहारार्थम्for the purpose of avoiding (a) female birth

पञ्चमीम्the fifth (tithi)

अपिalso

वर्जयेत्should avoid

ततःthen

षष्ठ्याम्on the sixth (tithi)

व्रजेत्should go/approach

रात्र्याम्at night

श्रेष्ठाbest

युगमासुon even nights

पुत्रकO dear son

Speakers

Didactic narrator within Markandeya Purana (instructional passage; not Devi Māhātmya frame)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "dharma", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

DharmaGṛhastha-ācāraConception rites (ṛtu-kāla notions)Traditional gender preference (textual)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The passage reflects a traditional belief that timing of conception influences the child’s sex; ethically, it shows how purāṇic gṛhastha-dharma often mixes moral instruction with period medical/ritual theories.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Not pañcalakṣaṇa; it is social/ritual instruction (ācāra).

What is the esoteric significance?

Even if read symbolically, ‘even nights’ can indicate harmony/regularity; the deeper thrust is regulation of desire through calendrical discipline.