Shloka 4

Saṅkara-jāti-nirṇaya and Gṛhastha-ācāra: Daily Rites, Purity, Anadhyāya, and Food Discipline

Devanagari script

शूद्राज्जातस्तु चाण्डालः सर्ववर्णविगर्हितः / क्षत्त्रिया मागधं वैश्याच्छूद्रा क्षत्तारमेव च

Transliteration

śūdrājjātastu cāṇḍālaḥ sarvavarṇavigarhitaḥ / kṣattriyā māgadhaṃ vaiśyācchūdrā kṣattārameva ca

Translation

จากศูทรา บังเกิดจัณฑาล ผู้ถูกติเตียนโดยชนทุกวรรณะ. จากสตรีกษัตริยานี บังเกิดมาคธะ; และจากบุรุษศูทรากับสตรีไวศยะ บังเกิดกษัตตาระ

Word by Word

• शूद्रात्: from a śūdra (father)
• शूद्रात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• जातः: born
• जातः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त—“born”

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—विशेष/विरोधार्थक

• चाण्डालः: Cāṇḍāla
• चाण्डालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाण्डाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सर्ववर्णविगर्हितः: reviled by all castes
• सर्ववर्णविगर्हितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + वर्ण + विगर्हित (कृदन्त; गर्ह् धातोः क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त—“reviled by all varṇas”

• क्षत्रियायाम्: in a kṣatriya woman
• क्षत्रियायाम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• मागधम्: Māgadha
• मागधम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मागध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (जातिवाचक)

• वैश्यात्: from a vaiśya (father)
• वैश्यात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• शूद्रायाम्: in a śūdra woman
• शूद्रायाम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूद्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• क्षत्तारम्: Kṣattā (attendant/servitor caste)
• क्षत्तारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्तार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (जातिवाचक)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—अवधारण (emphasis)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—समुच्चय (and)

Speaker

Lord Viṣṇu (teaching Garuḍa)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Saṅkara-jāti listing includes explicit social condemnation (sarva-varṇa-vigarhita) and further named categories (Māgadha, Kṣattāra) from specified unions.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma as societal regulation with punitive/pejorative valuations; not a mokṣa-oriented passage.

Application: Recognize the text’s prescriptive and exclusionary social judgments as historically situated; in modern ethics, reject dehumanizing censure and uphold equal rights while studying the tradition critically.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.96.1–1.96.4 (continuous saṅkara-jāti list; this verse contains the strongest censure language).

Characters & Entities

• Cāṇḍāla
• Māgadha
• Kṣattāra
• Śūdra
• Kṣatriya
• Vaiśya

FAQs

What is the importance of varna-related teachings in the Garuda Purana?

In the Ācāra Kāṇḍa, such verses function as normative dharma guidance, describing traditional social/legal categories used in older Dharmaśāstra frameworks rather than afterlife mechanics.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

This verse does not describe the soul’s journey; it belongs to conduct-oriented instruction (ācāra), listing traditional birth-based designations used for social regulation in that textual milieu.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Read it as a historical dharma classification within the text’s context, and apply the broader ethical thrust of the Purāṇa—self-discipline, compassion, and non-harm—rather than using it to justify discrimination.