Shloka 21

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

Devanagari script

प्रातः संध्यासमीपे च यावद्दंडचतुष्टयम् । तावत्पानीयममृतं पितॄणामुपतिष्ठते

Transliteration

prātaḥ saṃdhyāsamīpe ca yāvaddaṃḍacatuṣṭayam | tāvatpānīyamamṛtaṃ pitṝṇāmupatiṣṭhate

Translation

ใกล้ยามสนธยาตอนเช้า ตราบเท่าที่สี่ดัณฑะดำรงอยู่ น้ำที่ถวายยังคงปรากฏแก่ปิตฤทั้งหลายดุจอมฤต

Word by Word

• prātaḥ: in the morning
• prātaḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prātaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, time-adverb (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण)

• saṃdhyā-samīpe: near the twilight (sandhyā) time/place
• saṃdhyā-samīpe: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdhyā (प्रातिपदिक) + samīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa compound; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग) (samīpa), Locative (7th), Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• yāvat: as long as/until
• yāvat: Parimāṇa (परिमाण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, correlative particle (यावत्…तावत्) indicating extent/duration

• daṇḍa-catuṣṭayam: a span of four daṇḍas
• daṇḍa-catuṣṭayam: Kāla-parimāṇa (कालपरिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvigu compound (द्विगु) ‘four daṇḍas’; Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; measure of time

• tāvat: for that long
• tāvat: Parimāṇa (परिमाण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, correlative particle answering yāvat

• pānīyam: water (fit for drinking/offering)
• pānīyam: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pānīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• amṛtam: nectar-like/immortal
• amṛtam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; predicate adjective of pānīyam

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors (pitṛs)
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• upatiṣṭhate: is present/attends/stands by
• upatiṣṭhate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु) with upa- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: Verb; √sthā (स्था) with upa-; Present (लट्), 3rd person, Singular; Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative instruction within Padma Purāṇa context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: tirtha

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: saṃdhyāsamīpe → saṃdhyā + samīpe; yāvaddaṃḍacatuṣṭayam → yāvat + daṇḍa-catuṣṭayam; tāvatpānīyamamṛtaṃ → tāvat + pānīyam + amṛtam; pitṝṇāmupatiṣṭhate → pitṝṇām + upatiṣṭhate.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs

FAQs

What practice is this verse describing?

It refers to Pitṛ-related rites (such as tarpaṇa), stating that water offered near the morning sandhyā remains available to the ancestors as “nectar” for a specified duration.

What is the time window mentioned in the verse?

The verse specifies “four daṇḍas” near prātaḥ-sandhyā; a daṇḍa is a traditional unit of time used in classical Indian timekeeping.

What is the ethical or devotional lesson emphasized?

It highlights timely, disciplined ritual duty (dharma): offerings made at the proper sacred time are portrayed as especially efficacious and beneficial to one’s ancestors.