Shloka 32
Right Conduct, Offenses Against Brāhmaṇas, Truthfulness, and the Greatness of the Cow
Go-Māhātmya
पतितं कुष्ठसंयुक्तं चांडालं च गवाशिनम् । श्वानं रजस्वलां भिल्लं स्पृष्ट्वा स्नानं समाचरेत्
patitaṃ kuṣṭhasaṃyuktaṃ cāṃḍālaṃ ca gavāśinam | śvānaṃ rajasvalāṃ bhillaṃ spṛṣṭvā snānaṃ samācaret
پتیت (گرا ہوا/برخاستہ)، جذام زدہ، چانڈال، گائے کا گوشت کھانے والا، کتا، حائضہ عورت یا بھِلّ کو چھو لینے کے بعد شاستری طریقے کے مطابق تطہیری غسل کرنا چاہیے۔
Unspecified (narrative/dharmic injunction within Adhyaya 48 context)
Concept: Specific contacts are classified as causing impurity; snāna is prescribed to restore ritual cleanliness and social-religious order.
Application: Read as a historical dharma code: maintain hygiene after contact with illness/impurity; cultivate compassion while keeping prudent boundaries; prioritize cleanliness before worship.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A dharma-teacher enumerates categories of aśauca while a listener, having accidentally brushed against an afflicted person, walks toward a bathing place with urgency. The scene juxtaposes social boundary markers—village edge, cremation-ground path, stray dog—with the cleansing clarity of water and the restoring calm after snāna.","primary_figures":["dharma-teacher (sage)","listener/householder","outcaste figure (symbolic)","leprosy-afflicted person (symbolic)","dog","Bhilla tribesman (symbolic)"],"setting":"village outskirts leading to a river ghat; boundary spaces (edge of settlement) contrasted with purifying waters","lighting_mood":"overcast turning to clear light near water","color_palette":["dust brown","steel gray","river blue","clean white","saffron ochre"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: didactic tableau with sage seated on a decorated platform, gold leaf halo; vignettes around him showing the listed contacts as symbolic figures; at the right, the householder performing snāna at a ghat with gold leaf water highlights; ornate borders, rich reds/greens, emphasis on ritual restoration.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: village-edge narrative with multiple small vignettes; subtle, non-sensational depiction of the listed figures; the main focus on the river ghat where the householder bathes; cool palette, refined linework, compassionate restraint in expressions.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines and symbolic clarity; sage pointing as the categories appear as stylized icons; the river rendered with rhythmic wave patterns; transition from darker tones near the village edge to bright pigments at the ghat, temple-wall didactic energy.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: central cleansing river band with lotus motifs; peripheral medallions depicting the contact categories as symbolic silhouettes; ornate floral borders, deep blue and gold water patterns, emphasis on purification and return to worship."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"authoritative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["temple bell","water poured from a pot","wind at village edge","silence after the injunction"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: चाण्डालं च (cāṃḍālaṃ ca) = चाण्डालम् + च; गवाशिनम् = गव् + आशिनम्; स्पृष्ट्वा (absolutive) governs the list of objects in accusative; समाचरेत् is the main verb.
FAQs
It prescribes snāna (a purificatory bath) as the remedial act after touching persons or beings regarded here as ritually polluting.
The verse is primarily about ācāra—rules of cleanliness and ritual purity (śauca)—rather than explicit bhakti instruction.
In its textual setting it teaches concern for purity and self-discipline; in contemporary reading, it can be approached as a historical dharma-śāstra style rule, distinguishing ritual categories from modern ethical views on human dignity.