Shloka 49

The Lakṣmī–Nārāyaṇa Vow Narrative

Puṣya Thursday Observance and the Ethics of Fortune

Devanagari script

कथयिष्यामि किं दुष्टे व्रतं परमदुर्लभम् । इंदिरावासरे चाद्य चांडालेन करोषि यत्

Transliteration

kathayiṣyāmi kiṃ duṣṭe vrataṃ paramadurlabham | iṃdirāvāsare cādya cāṃḍālena karoṣi yat

Translation

โอ้หญิงชั่วร้าย เราจะกล่าวสิ่งใดแก่เจ้าเล่า ถึงพรตอันหาได้ยากยิ่ง—ที่เจ้ากำลังกระทำในวันของอินทิรา ร่วมกับจัณฑาล?

Word by Word

• कथयिष्यामि: I will tell
• कथयिष्यामि: क्रिया (Kriyā/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथय् (धातु) < कथ् (धातु) causative (णिच्)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/भविष्यत्), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• किम्: what?
• किम्: सम्बोधन/प्रश्न (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन (contextually exclamatory/interrogative: "what?")

• दुष्टे: O wicked woman
• दुष्टे: सम्बोधन (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, एकवचन (addressing a woman: "O wicked one")

• व्रतम्: vow, observance
• व्रतम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म) (कथयिष्यामि इत्यस्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन

• परमदुर्लभम्: extremely rare
• परमदुर्लभम्: विशेषण (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक) + दुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमास (descriptive), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; व्रतम् इत्यस्य विशेषण

• इन्दिरावासरे: on Indirā’s day (Friday)
• इन्दिरावासरे: अधिकरण (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्दिरा (प्रातिपदिक) + वासर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive tatpuruṣa: "Indirāyāḥ vāsaraḥ"), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• अद्य: today, now
• अद्य: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• चाण्डालेन: by/with a caṇḍāla
• चाण्डालेन: करण (Instrument/Agent-associate/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाण्डाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन

• करोषि: you do
• करोषि: क्रिया (Kriyā/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• यत्: which, that (what)
• यत्: सम्बन्ध (Relative connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम (relative pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative: "which/that")

Speaker

Unspecified (context needed to identify the dialogue pair confidently)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Geographic Context

Type: city

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: चाद्य = च + अद्य.

Characters & Entities

• Indirā (Lakṣmī, implied by 'Indirā-vāsara')
• Caṇḍāla (social category)

FAQs

What is meant by “Indirā’s weekday” (Indirā-vāsara) in this verse?

Indirā is a name of Lakṣmī; “Indirā-vāsara” commonly denotes Friday, a day associated with Lakṣmī and related vows (vratas).

Why does the verse mention a caṇḍāla in the context of a vow (vrata)?

The verse frames a critique of performing a rare religious observance while associating with someone labeled a caṇḍāla, reflecting a dharma-text concern with ritual/social boundaries in certain contexts.

What ethical lesson is suggested by this dialogue?

It suggests that religious practice is not only about the act of observance but also about the practitioner’s conduct, discernment, and the perceived appropriateness of one’s associations within the text’s dharma framework.