Shloka 82
Dharma of Non-Injury, Non-Stealing, Purity, and Avoidance of Hypocrisy (Ācāra and Saṅkarya-Nivṛtti)
परबाधं न कुर्वोत जलवातातपादिभिः / कारयित्वा स्वकर्माणि कारून् पश्चान्न वञ्चयेत् / सायंप्रातर् गृहद्वारान् भिक्षार्थं नावघट्टयेत्
parabādhaṃ na kurvota jalavātātapādibhiḥ / kārayitvā svakarmāṇi kārūn paścānna vañcayet / sāyaṃprātar gṛhadvārān bhikṣārthaṃ nāvaghaṭṭayet
One should not harm others by misusing water, wind, heat, sunlight, and the like. Having had artisans perform one’s appointed works, one should not cheat them afterwards. And one should not, at evening and at dawn, go knocking at household doors for alms.
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing on dharma (sadācāra) within a Purāṇic dialogue framework
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames dharma as restraint from harming others and from deceit, implying that spiritual life begins with self-mastery and purity of conduct—foundational for realizing the Atman in the Kurma Purana’s broader teaching.
It emphasizes ethical restraints akin to yama: non-harming in ordinary acts and honesty in livelihood (not cheating workers), plus disciplined dependence (not harassing homes for alms). Such moral discipline is treated as the ground on which higher Yoga—later elaborated in Kurma Purana traditions including Pāśupata-oriented practice—can stand.
This verse focuses on sadācāra rather than explicit deity-theology; in the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such shared ethical dharma is presented as universally upheld by the Supreme—whether addressed as Vishnu (Kūrma) or aligned with Shaiva/Pāśupata discipline.