Shloka 38

Dietary Rules & Purification — Dietary Rules, Purification (Śauca), and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller

Devanagari script

यो नित्यकर्मणो हानिं कुर्यान्नैमित्तिकस्य च भुक्त्वान्नं तस्य शुद्ध्येत त्रिरात्रोपोषितो नरः

Transliteration

yo nityakarmaṇo hāniṃ kuryānnaimittikasya ca bhuktvānnaṃ tasya śuddhyeta trirātropoṣito naraḥ

Translation

నిత్యకర్మలకూ, నైమిత్తిక కర్మలకూ హానిని కలిగించువాడు—అటువాని అన్నం తిన్న మనిషి మూడు రాత్రులు ఉపవాసం ఉండి శుద్ధి పొందును।

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• नित्य-कर्मणः: of daily duties
• नित्य-कर्मणः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नित्य + कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; नित्यकर्मन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (नित्यं कर्म = daily duty)

• हानिम्: omission / loss
• हानिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हानि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (loss/omission)

• कुर्यात्: should commit (make)
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद (should do/make)

• नैमित्तिकस्य: of occasional (rites)
• नैमित्तिकस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नैमित्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; विशेषण (of occasional/conditional rite)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• भुक्त्वा: having eaten
• भुक्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भुज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त; पूर्वकाल (having eaten)

• अन्नम्: food
• अन्नम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• तस्य: of him / thereby
• तस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (of him/thereof)

• शुद्ध्येत: should be purified
• शुद्ध्येत: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √शुध् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (should become purified)

• त्रि-रात्र-उपोषितः: having fasted for three nights
• त्रि-रात्र-उपोषितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि + रात्र + उपोषित (कृदन्त; उप + √वस्/√उष्? here उपवासार्थे उपोषित from उपवास/उपोषण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (त्रीणि रात्राणि उपोषितः = having fasted for three nights)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speakers

• Not specified in input (commonly framed as Pulastya ↔ Nārada)

Key Themes

• Nitya-karma
• Naimittika-karma
• Prāyaścitta
• Fasting (upoṣaṇa)
• Ritual discipline

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ritual discipline is presented as socially consequential: neglect of obligatory duties affects not only the doer but those who partake in his dependency-network (e.g., food). The remedy—three-night fasting—emphasizes self-restraint as a means to restore purity and mindfulness.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is dharma/ācāra material (prāyaścitta and karma-niyama) embedded in a purāṇic chapter; it is not directly one of the five pancalakṣaṇa categories, though it can appear alongside vamśānucarita/manvantara narratives as prescriptive teaching.

What is the symbolic significance?

“Three nights” can symbolize a complete cycle of restraint sufficient to reset conduct and intention. The linkage of purity to ‘food of the negligent’ symbolically frames nourishment as inseparable from the ethical order (ṛta/dharma).