Shloka 46

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

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मणानामहोरात्रं क्षत्रियाणां दिनत्रयम षड्रात्रं चैव वैश्यानां शूद्राणां द्वादशाह्निकम्

Transliteration

brahmaṇānāmahorātraṃ kṣatriyāṇāṃ dinatrayama ṣaḍrātraṃ caiva vaiśyānāṃ śūdrāṇāṃ dvādaśāhnikam

Translation

برہمنوں کے لیے ایک دن اور رات؛ کشتریوں کے لیے تین دن؛ ویشیوں کے لیے چھ راتیں؛ اور شودروں کے لیے بارہ دن کی مدت مقرر ہے۔

Word by Word

• brahmaṇānām: of Brahmins
• brahmaṇānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural; ‘of Brahmins’

• ahaḥ-rātram: a day and a night
• ahaḥ-rātram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + rātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः ‘a day-and-night (period)’

• kṣatriyāṇām: of Kshatriyas
• kṣatriyāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣatriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural

• dina-trayam: three days
• dina-trayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; द्विगु-समासः ‘three days’

• ṣaṭ-rātram: six nights
• ṣaṭ-rātram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + rātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; द्विगु-समासः ‘six nights’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction particle (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक अव्यय)

• vaiśyānām: of Vaishyas
• vaiśyānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural

• śūdrāṇām: of Shudras
• śūdrāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural

• dvādaśa-ahnikam: a twelve-day period
• dvādaśa-ahnikam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + ahnika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; द्विगु-समासः ‘twelve-day period’

Speakers

• Unspecified in input (often Pulastya → Nārada framework)

Key Themes

• Vrata/Rituals
• Śauca-Aśauca
• Varṇa-based dharma norms

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse presents a graded ritual timetable intended to standardize social practice; it reflects a classical dharma framework where duties and observances are differentiated by social role.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

It is not a pañcalakṣaṇa unit; it is prescriptive dharma material (ācāra), embedded within Purāṇic teaching sections.

What is the symbolic significance?

The increasing durations function as a symbolic scale of restraint and reintegration into ritual life, expressing the Purāṇic concern for maintaining communal order through shared observances.