Nagna
Nagna, “the naked one”
Grammar: adjective, also used as a masculine noun: “naked”, one who goes without clothing.
Meaning: (1) naked, digambara (“clothed in the directions”); (2) as the ṛshis use it, a man in whose home no vrata, Veda study or discussion of the śāstras ever takes place.
In the scriptures: The ṛshis, teaching the rākshasa king Sukeśī, name those from whom food must not be accepted: sūtikas, shaṇḍhas, mārjāras, mūshikas, śunakas, kukkuṭas, patitas, apaviddhas, nagnas, cāṇḍālas and other lowly ones. When Sukeśī asks their marks, they define each by his conduct. The nagna, “the naked one”, is the man in whose house no vratas, no study of the Vedas and no discussion of the śāstras ever take place. The food he gives is to be condemned (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 15).
In the same teaching the ṛshis say that one who touches a woman in her monthly course, a dog, a naked man (digambara), a woman who has just given birth, the antyajas or those who carry the dead is made pure by a bath (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 15).
Related terms: Digambara · Vrata · Svādhyāya · Apaviddha · Mūshika · Patita
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 15