Shloka 89
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
अहिंसाधर्मसंयुक्ता: प्रचरेयु: सुरोत्तमा: । स वो देश: सेवितव्यो मा वो<धर्म: पदा स्पृशेत्
ahiṃsā-dharma-saṃyuktāḥ pracareyuḥ surottamāḥ | sa vo deśaḥ sevitavyo mā vo dharmaḥ padā spṛśet |
Vaiśampāyana said: “O best of the gods, move about in a way that is joined to the dharma of non-violence. Let that land be your chosen abode and place of service, so that your dharma may not be sullied—so that it may not be ‘touched by the foot’ (trampled or violated).”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges conduct grounded in ahiṃsā (non-violence) and warns against any action that would degrade or violate dharma—expressed through the vivid idiom of dharma being ‘touched by the foot,’ i.e., trampled or defiled.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, conveys an instruction addressed to ‘the best of the gods,’ advising them to dwell or operate in a suitable region while maintaining non-violent, dharmic conduct, so their righteousness remains untainted.