17.10
यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत् ।
उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम् ॥
yātayāmaṃ gatarasaṃ pūti paryuṣitaṃ ca yat
ucchiṣṭam api cāmedhyaṃ bhojanaṃ tāmasapriyam
śrībhagavān (श्रीभगवान्) is still speaking. This is the food of the dark strand.
The verse
The meal that is stale, gone of taste, foul, and left overnight, and also the leavings and what is unfit for the offering, is dear to the person of तमस्.
नेपालीमा
बासी, स्वाद हराएको, गन्हाउने र रातभर राखिएको भोजन, अनि जुठो र यज्ञका लागि अयोग्य कुरा, तमस् भएको मानिसलाई प्यारो हुन्छ।
Where it sits
The three foods are complete. Clear food grows and pleases. Driving food burns and costs. Dark food is what is left over, or kept too long, or unfit for the rite. 17.7 still owes the distinction of sacrifice, austerity, and gift. That begins at 17.11.
Split: यात-यामम् + गत-रसम् + पूति + पर्युषितम् + च + यत् + उच्छिष्टम् + अपि + च + अ-मेध्यम् + भोजनम् + तामस-प्रियम्
yāta-yāmam + gata-rasam + pūti + paryuṣitam + ca + yat + ucchiṣṭam + api + ca + a-medhyam + bhojanam + tāmasa-priyam
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| यात-यामम् | yāta-yāmam | nominative singular neuter | stale, the watch of time having gone. yāma (याम) is a watch of the day. Agrees with yat (यत्). |
| गत-रसम् | gata-rasam | nominative singular neuter | whose taste has gone. |
| पूति | pūti | nominative singular neuter | foul. |
| पर्युषितम् | paryuṣitam | nominative singular neuter | left overnight. pari (परि) with uṣita (उषित) "stayed." |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| यत् | yat | nominative singular neuter | which. |
| उच्छिष्टम् | ucchiṣṭam | nominative singular neuter | leftover, already eaten from. ut (उत्) with śiṣṭa (शिष्ट) "left." |
| अपि | api | indeclinable | also. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| अ-मेध्यम् | a-medhyam | nominative singular neuter | unfit for the offering. medhya (मेध्य) is fit for the rite. The a- (अ-) reverses it. |
| भोजनम् | bhojanam | nominative singular | a meal. |
| तामस-प्रियम् | tāmasa-priyam | nominative singular neuter | dear to the person of tamas (तमस्). Agrees with bhojanam (भोजनम्). |
The phrases
yātayāmam gatarasam pūti paryuṣitam ca yat (यातयामम् गतरसम् पूति पर्युषितम् च यत्) is the meal that has waited too long. Stale, tasteless, foul, and kept overnight. yat (यत्) is "which," and every adjective before it is neuter with the meal.
उच्छिष्टम् अपि च अमेध्यम् ucchiṣṭam api ca amedhyam adds the meal that is someone else's leavings, and the meal that cannot go into the rite. api (अपि) and ca (च) stack the two.
bhojanam tāmasapriyam (भोजनम् तामसप्रियम्) is the classification, singular this time. A meal, dear to the dark strand. 17.8 and 17.9 said foods, plural. The grammar here is one meal.
Sanskrit in this line
च + अमेध्यम् ca + amedhyam is recited cāmedhyam (चामेध्यम्). अ + अ a + a becomes ā (आ). The a- (अ-) that makes the meal unfit sits inside that long ā (आ). In the split the word is a-medhyam (अ-मेध्यम्). Say the a- (अ-), or the meal sounds fit for the offering.
Say it back
Stale, foul, leftover, unfit. If amedhyam (अमेध्यम्) is said as fit for the rite, stay here.