Vamana Purana — Rules of Purity (Shauca), Shloka 53
Rules of Purity (Śauca), Permissible Foods, and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller
देवालयं चैत्यतरुं चतुष्पथं विद्याधिकं चापि गुरुं प्रदक्षिणम् माल्यान्नपानं वसनानि यत्नतो नान्यैर्धृतांश्चापि हि धारयेद् बुधः // वम्प्_14.52 स्नायाच्छिरःस्नानतया च नित्यं न कारणं चैव विना निशासु ग्रहोपरागे स्वजनापयाते मुक्त्वा च जन्मर्क्षगते शशङ्के
devālayaṃ caityataruṃ catuṣpathaṃ vidyādhikaṃ cāpi guruṃ pradakṣiṇam mālyānnapānaṃ vasanāni yatnato nānyairdhṛtāṃścāpi hi dhārayed budhaḥ // VamP_14.52 snāyācchiraḥsnānatayā ca nityaṃ na kāraṇaṃ caiva vinā niśāsu grahoparāge svajanāpayāte muktvā ca janmarkṣagate śaśaṅke
A wise person should circumambulate a temple, a sacred tree (caitya-taru), a crossroads, one superior in learning, and also one’s teacher. With care, one should not wear garlands, food/drink remnants, or garments that have been used by others. One should perform head-bathing daily, and should not bathe at night without a proper reason—except during an eclipse, at the time of a family death/period of mourning, and when the moon is in one’s birth-asterism (janma-nakṣatra).
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FAQs
The verse codifies everyday dharma as embodied reverence: honoring sacred loci (temple/tree/crossroads), honoring living embodiments of dharma (guru, the learned), and maintaining personal integrity through purity and restraint (avoiding others’ used items). It frames discipline (niyama) as a support for sattva and social harmony.
This passage is best classified under ancillary dharma-śāstra style instruction rather than the five hallmark topics; it aligns loosely with ‘ācāra’ material that often accompanies Vamśānucarita and tīrtha-māhātmya sections, but it is not directly Sarga/Pratisarga/Vaṃśa/Manvantara/Vaṃśānucarita.
Pradakṣiṇā symbolizes placing the sacred at one’s center (moving around it in a rightward, auspicious orientation). The cautions about night-bathing and used items emphasize boundaries that protect ritual potency (tejas) and mental clarity, while the eclipse and birth-star exceptions acknowledge liminal times that demand special observance.