Shloka 23

कल्मषापहर-कीर्तनम् / Kīrtana for the Removal of Impurity

Devanagari script

श्वरपाकपुल्कसादीनां कुत्सितानामचेतसाम्‌ | कुलेषु तेषु जायन्ते गुरुवृद्धापचायिन:

Transliteration

śvapāka-pulkasa-ādīnāṁ kutsitānām acetāsām | kuleṣu teṣu jāyante guru-vṛddhāpacāyinaḥ ||

Translation

大自在天说道：从那地狱得释之后，那些心性卑劣之人，便生于为世所鄙的族类之中，如尸食者（śvapāka）与普尔迦娑（pulkasa）等。他们是人中最下者——不敬长老与师长之辈——因此再度投生于那些受人非议的系族。

Word by Word

• श्वपाकपुल्कसादीनाम्: of (those) such as dog-cookers (caṇḍālas) and pulkasas etc.
• श्वपाकपुल्कसादीनाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वपाक + पुल्कस + आदि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कुत्सितानाम्: of the vile/despicable
• कुत्सितानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुत्सित
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अचेतसाम्: of the senseless/ignorant
• अचेतसाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अचेतस्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कुलेषु: in families/clans
• कुलेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• तेषु: in those (families)
• तेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Plural

• जायन्ते: are born / take birth
• जायन्ते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Ātmanepada

• गुरुवृद्धापचायिनः: those who disrespect/neglect gurus and elders
• गुरुवृद्धापचायिनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुरु + वृद्ध + अपचायिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Maheśvara (Mahādeva/Śiva)
• śvapāka
• pulkasa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that contempt for teachers and elders is a grave ethical failure with karmic consequences: after suffering in hell, such persons are said to be reborn in socially despised lineages, emphasizing the dharmic duty of reverence (apacaya) toward gurus and the aged.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrī Maheśvara is describing the post-mortem fate of wrongdoers: once they are released from a particular hell, they undergo rebirth among communities labeled as śvapāka and pulkasa, specifically identifying the fault of disrespecting gurus and elders as the cause for that degraded rebirth.