चतुर्विधावधूतमाहात्म्यकथनम्The greatness of the four kinds of avadhūta
Verse 176
अशुचिर्याति शुचितामस्पृश्यः स्पृश्यतामियात् । अभक्ष्यमपि भक्ष्यं स्यात् येषां संस्पर्शमात्रतः ॥ १७६ ॥
aśuciryāti śucitāmaspṛśyaḥ spṛśyatāmiyāt | abhakṣyamapi bhakṣyaṁ syāt yēṣāṁ saṁsparśamātrataḥ || 176 ||
Translation
By the mere touch of them the impure comes to purity, the untouchable becomes one who may be touched, and even what may not be eaten can be eaten.
Word by word
- aśucir
- (aśuciḥ) the impure
- yāti
- comes
- śucitām
- to purity
- aspṛśyaḥ
- the untouchable
- spṛśyatām
- to being touched
- iyāt
- goes
- abhakṣyam
- what may not be eaten
- api
- even
- bhakṣyaṁ
- to be eaten
- syāt
- is
- yēṣāṁ
- of whom
- saṁsparśa
- the touch
- mātrataḥ
- by the mere
Meaning
Here the text's purity rules are turned around by the holy person's touch. The verses that follow carry this over to the people whom the society of the time held furthest off.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
See the commentary on verse 175.