Shaṇḍha
Shaṇḍha, “the impotent one”
Grammar: masculine noun: “one who is impotent”, a man without the power to beget.
Meaning: (1) an impotent man; (2) as the ṛshis use it in this text, a man who does not do at their proper time the karmas laid down for him.
In the scriptures: the ṛshis, teaching the rākshasa king Sukeśī in Pulastya Maharshi‘s account to Nārada, name those from whom food must not be taken: sūtikas, shaṇḍhas, mārjāras, mūshikas, śunakas, kukkuṭas, patitas, apaviddhas, nagnas, cāṇḍālas and other lowly ones. When Sukeśī asks their marks, they define each by what he does. The shaṇḍha is the one who does not do at the proper time his bath, japa, sandhyāvandana, homa and the other karmas, the rites to the devas and the pitṛs, dāna and dharma (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 15).
Related terms: Sūtika · Śunaka · Mūshika · Apaviddha · Sandhyāvandana
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 15