Etymologically, the meaning of Ucchishta is anything
leftover as a remainder, rejected or abandoned. The term Ucchishta has
undergone severe changes in Hinduism. The word is derived from the root ‘sis’
preceded by the prefix ‘ut’, “meaning to leave as a remainder”, and followed by
the suffix kta.
Today in Hinduism, its conventional sense is widely used to
denote the food left in the plate from which one has eaten, and, one who has
not washed his hands and mouth after a meal and hence impure. The term plays an
important role in religious contexts, bearing multidimensional senses like
remainder of food, residue of sacrifice, unholy, impure, stale, an attribute of
gods like Ucchishta Ganapati, and goddess like Ucchista Chandalini, a form of
Goddess Matangi.
Ucchishta As Germ Of Creation In Vedas
In Vedic literature, ucchishta is praised as a residue of
sacrifice in which the germ of worldly creation exists. The idea is found in the
Atharva Veda in a complete hymn as a glorification of Ucchishta or residue of the
yajna (Atharva Veda XI.7).
Ucchishta contains the name and form as the connecting link
between Brahman and the world (ucchishte nama rupam cocchiste loka ahitah –
Atharva Veda XI 7.1).
Indra and Agni and the whole universe are comprised in
Uchishta, or residue of sacrifice.
Ucchishta holds earth, heaven, and everything like sea
waters, moon and wind (Atharva Veda XI 7.2). Real, non-real, prajapati, death,
and other gods are also prevalent in Ucchishta (Atharva Veda XI 7.3-4). All
things that breathe life, all creatures and all the celestial gods sprang from
Ucchishta (Atharva Veda 7.23).
But this glorified sense of Ucchishta as a source of all
creations is changed to denote the remainder of food and drink since the
Upanishadic period. Chandogya Upanishad (I.10.3-4) mentions the term in a story
of Usati Chakrayana, prescribing to receive the remnants of food and drink even
by some learned person under some circumstances like an unavailability of
anything as means of livelihood.
Ucchishta – Left Over Food In Dharmasutras
Dharmasutras and Smriti texts discuss this concept in
detail, in the context of forbidden food. There were strict rules on giving one’s
leftover food (or ucchishta) to another.
According to Apastamba Dharmasutra (I.2.21.25-26), a Brahmin
should not give his ucchishta to a non-brahmin.
Ucchishta In Manusmriti
Regarding the term ucchista to denote remnants of food and
impurity, Manusmriti states, let a Brahmin not give to any man his leftover
food… nor go anywhere without having purified himself after his meal. Manu
forbids giving ucchishta to a shudra.
In the sense of impure, Manu uses the term ucchishta several
times in the context of drops of leftover water from the mouth or touching of
anything by an impure person (Manusmriti V.141 – 143).
Manusmriti has given four meanings to Ucchishta –
- Leftover food
- Food taken out in a vessel before serving
- Unwashed hands and mouth after meals
- One who has answered a call of nature and not yet performed the purifiatory acts like acchamana, etc.
The Mahabharata (III.136.14) uses the term to denote impure
and the Bhagavad Gita use it to denote leftover food.
Maha Subhasita Samgraha records the term in three verses
(6359-61) in the sense of negligible matter, sanctifying and uncleanliness;
ucchistam karakharparam (a beggar’s bowl of a skull), ucchistam sivanirmalyam…ati
arvitrakah (leftover milk and faded flowers offered to Lord Shiva are
sanctifying) and ucchisto na sprset khadgam (one with unclean hands after a
meal should not touch a sword.
The term Ucchishta is a multidimensional concept in
Hinduism.