Shloka 38
Viṣṇu-sahasranāma—Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Recitation (विष्णोर्नामसहस्रम्)
ब्रह्महा चैव गोघ्नक्ष परदाररतश्न यः । अश्रद्दधानश्न नर: स्त्रियं यश्चोपजीवति,ब्रह्महत्यारा, गोहत्या करनेवाला, परस्त्रीलम्पट, अश्रद्धालु तथा जो स्त्रीपर निर्भर रहकर जीविका चलाता है--ये ही पूर्वोक्त पाँच प्रकारके दुराचारी हैं
brahmahā caiva goghnaś ca paradārarataś ca yaḥ | aśraddadhānaś ca naraḥ striyaṃ yaś copajīvati ||
Yama said: “A slayer of a brāhmaṇa, a killer of a cow, one addicted to another man’s wife, a man devoid of faith, and one who lives by depending on a woman—these are the five kinds of depraved persons spoken of.”
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies five forms of grave moral failure—brahma-hatyā, go-hatyā, adultery, faithlessness toward dharma, and living by improper dependence—presenting them as paradigmatic ‘durācāra’ (depraved conduct) to be avoided.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic setting, Yama is speaking as a moral authority, enumerating and defining categories of serious wrongdoing as part of a broader instruction on righteous conduct and its opposites.