Shloka 20

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

Devanagari script

प्रातःस्नानं महापुण्यं सर्वपापप्रणाशनम् । यः कुर्यात्सततं विप्रो विष्णुलोके महीयते

Transliteration

prātaḥsnānaṃ mahāpuṇyaṃ sarvapāpapraṇāśanam | yaḥ kuryātsatataṃ vipro viṣṇuloke mahīyate

Translation

ప్రాతఃకాల స్నానం మహాపుణ్యప్రదం, సమస్త పాపనాశకం. దానిని నిత్యం ఆచరించే బ్రాహ్మణుడు విష్ణులోకంలో గౌరవింపబడును.

Word by Word

• prātaḥ-snānam: morning bath
• prātaḥ-snānam: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prātaḥ (अव्यय) + snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva compound; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• mahā-puṇyam: greatly meritorious
• mahā-puṇyam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद-प्रातिपदिक) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya compound; Neuter, Nominative, Singular; predicate adjective of prātaḥ-snānam

• sarva-pāpa-praṇāśanam: destroyer of all sins
• sarva-pāpa-praṇāśanam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + praṇāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa compound; Neuter, Nominative, Singular; predicate adjective of prātaḥ-snānam

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम); Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: √kṛ; Vidhi-liṅ (optative), 3rd person, Singular; Parasmaipada

• satataṃ: always/continually
• satataṃ: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satatam (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya, adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• vipraḥ: a brāhmaṇa
• vipraḥ: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; apposition to yaḥ

• viṣṇu-loke: in Viṣṇu’s world
• viṣṇu-loke: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa compound; Masculine, Locative (7th), Singular

• mahīyate: is honored/glorified
• mahīyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mah (धातु)
• Form: Verb; Dhātu: √mah (मह्) ‘to honor’; Present tense (लट्), 3rd person, Singular; Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद) passive-like sense ‘is honored/glorified’

Speaker

Unspecified (narratorial instruction within Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: tirtha

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: kuryātsatataṃ → kuryāt + satatam (final -t before s); prātaḥsnānam → prātaḥ + snānam (Avyayībhāva).

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu

FAQs

What practice is praised in this verse?

The verse praises prātaḥ-snānā (bathing at dawn) as a daily discipline that brings great religious merit and removes sins.

How does this verse relate to Vaishnava spiritual goals?

It connects purity-practices with a Vaiṣṇava end—honor in Viṣṇuloka—implying that regular dharmic conduct supports devotion-oriented liberation ideals.

What ethical lesson does the verse teach?

Consistency in simple, disciplined purity practices is presented as spiritually transformative—regular conduct (satataṃ) is valued over occasional effort.