Śunaka
Śunaka, “a dog”
Grammar: masculine noun, from śvan (dog): “a dog”.
Meaning: (1) a dog; (2) as the ṛshis use it in this text, a man who wounds others with stinging words and cannot bear their good qualities.
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 śunaka, “the dog”, is the one who always torments others with sharp, stinging words and hates the good qualities he sees in others (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 15).
Related terms: Shaṇḍha · Mārjāra · Mūshika · Kukkuṭa · Patita
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 15