Neither nakedness nor matted hair nor mud, nor fasting nor sleeping on the ground, nor dust and filth nor squatting purify a mortal who has not crossed over doubt.

Na naggacariyā na jaṭā na paṅkā — neither nakedness nor matted hair nor mud: the list enumerates common ascetic practices in the Buddha’s India. The nigaṇṭha (Jains) practiced nakedness; yogis wore matted hair (jaṭā); covering oneself in mud or ash was practice of tāpasa (ascetics).

Nānāsakā thaṇḍilasāyikā — nor fasting nor sleeping on the bare ground: other extreme ascetic practices of the Indian context. These physical mortifications were highly respected popularly as signs of spiritual advancement.

Sodhenti maccaṃ avitiṇṇakaṅkhaṃ — they do not purify a mortal who has not crossed over doubt: kaṅkhā is doubt, spiritual uncertainty. Avitiṇṇa is not crossed, not overcome. No external practice purifies if the fundamental doubt about the nature of reality persists.

This critique of external asceticism is central to Buddhist teaching. The middle path (majjhimā paṭipadā) rejects both hedonism and extreme asceticism in favor of practice that genuinely purifies: transformation of mind.