Dharma of Non-Injury, Non-Stealing, Purity, and Avoidance of Hypocrisy (Ācāra and Saṅkarya-Nivṛtti)
पतितव्यङ्गचण्डालानुच्छिष्टान् नावलोकयेत् / नाभिभाषेत च परमुच्छिष्टो वावगुण्ठितः
patitavyaṅgacaṇḍālānucchiṣṭān nāvalokayet / nābhibhāṣeta ca paramucchiṣṭo vāvaguṇṭhitaḥ
لا ينبغي أن ينظر المرءُ حتى إلى الساقط أو المشوَّه أو إلى الشاندالا إذا كانوا في حال «أوتشيشْتا» (نجاسة بسبب بقايا الطعام). ولا ينبغي أن يُخاطَبوا، ولا سيما إذا كان المرءُ نفسه في نجاسةٍ شديدة، أو كان مُتَلَثِّمًا/مُغَطّى وفق طقس النجاسة.
Sūta (narrator) conveying dharma-śāstric injunctions as taught in the Kurma Purana’s discourse
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Indirectly: it frames external purity and restraint of senses/speech as preparatory disciplines; in the Kurma Purana’s broader teaching, such niyamas stabilize the mind so it can turn inward toward the Self and the Lord.
It emphasizes ethical restraint (yama/niyama-like discipline): guarding sight and speech during states of impurity. In the Kurma Purana’s larger sādhanā-arc, these restraints support steadiness (śama, dama) needed for mantra, worship, and yogic contemplation.
This verse is primarily an ācāra injunction, not a theological unity statement; however, the Kurma Purana’s synthesis treats such dharmic restraints as common foundations for both Śaiva (Pāśupata) and Vaiṣṇava devotion and yoga.