Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 34, Shloka 66
Adhyaya 34 — Madālāsā’s Instruction on Sadācāra (Householder Conduct, Purity, and Daily Rites)
कृतशौचावशिष्टाश्च वर्जयेत् पञ्च वै मृदः ।
प्रक्षाल्य हस्तौ पादौ च समभ्युक्ष्य समाहितः ॥
kṛtaśaucāvaśiṣṭāś ca varjayet pañca vai mṛdaḥ | prakṣālya hastau pādau ca samabhyukṣya samāhitaḥ ||
After cleansing (śauca), one should avoid five kinds of earth (used, leftover, or impure clays). Having washed the hands and feet and then sprinkling water upon oneself, one should remain composed.
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FAQs
Purification is systematic: one avoids secondary contamination (used earth), completes washing, and returns to a collected mental state—purity is both physical and psychological.
Ancillary dharma instruction; not pañcalakṣaṇa.
The move from cleansing to ‘samāhita’ indicates that śauca culminates in restored inner steadiness; sprinkling water functions as a boundary-marking rite before re-entering sacred activities.