प्लावयस्व त्वमात्मानं नरोत्तम सदोचिते। सलिले पुरुषव्याघ्र शुचि: पुण्यफलो भव।।1.44.14।।
Meaning
Best of men, bathe yourself now in this ever-fitting water; tiger among men, be pure, and let your merit bear fruit.
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| plāvayasva tvam ātmānam | प्लावयस्व त्वम् आत्मानम् | bathe yourself | Verb (imperative) / Nominative / Accusative |
| nara-uttama sadā-ucite | नर-उत्तम सदा-उचिते | O best of men, in the ever fitting [water] | Vocative / Locative |
| salile puruṣa-vyāghra | सलिले पुरुष-व्याघ्र | in the water, O tiger among men | Locative / Vocative |
| śuciḥ puṇya-phalaḥ bhava | शुचिः पुण्य-फलः भव | become pure, of meritorious fruit | Nominative / Nominative / Verb (imperative) |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
The source explains that the waters of other rivers carry a blemish called 'rajasvala dosha' -- when the sun is in Leo/Cancer, during the monsoon, the influx of new water is likened to a river's menstruation, making bathing in it inadvisable at that time. Ganga, drawing perennially from the Himalayas, is held to be beyond this taboo.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.44.14 · Bāla Kāṇḍa