Dharma of Non-Injury, Non-Stealing, Purity, and Avoidance of Hypocrisy (Ācāra and Saṅkarya-Nivṛtti)
बहिर्माल्यं बहिर्गन्धं भार्यया सह भोजनम् / विगृह्य वादं कुद्वारप्रवेशं च विवर्जयेत्
bahirmālyaṃ bahirgandhaṃ bhāryayā saha bhojanam / vigṛhya vādaṃ kudvārapraveśaṃ ca vivarjayet
Man soll vermeiden, außerhalb des Hauses Girlanden und Düfte zur Schau zu tragen; mit der Ehefrau so zu speisen, dass Unziemlichkeit begünstigt wird; streitsüchtige Wortgefechte; sowie das Betreten durch ungehörige Türen oder geheime Wege.
Traditional attribution: the Kurma Purana narrator (Sūta) conveying dharma-instructions of the text to the assembled sages (Sadācāra section).
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Indirectly: by prescribing restraint over display, speech, and movement, it supports purification of conduct (ācāra-śuddhi), which in Purāṇic yoga is a practical foundation for inward steadiness needed for Self-knowledge.
It highlights yama-like disciplines—control of outward indulgence, avoidance of quarrel, and careful regulation of behavior—preparatory ethics that stabilize the mind for dhyāna and higher yoga taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana (including Pāśupata-oriented teachings).
This verse is primarily ethical (sadācāra) rather than theological; its shared-dharma emphasis reflects the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where right conduct is upheld as common ground for devotion and yoga regardless of sectarian framing.