Shloka 30
Dietary Rules & Purification — Dietary Rules, Purification (Śauca), and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller
विभवे सति नैवात्ति न ददाति जुहोति च तमाहुराखुं तस्यान्नं भुक्त्वा कृच्छ्रेण सुद्ध्यति
vibhave sati naivātti na dadāti juhoti ca tamāhurākhuṃ tasyānnaṃ bhuktvā kṛcchreṇa suddhyati
Even though he has the means, he neither eats in a righteous manner, nor gives in charity, nor offers oblations in sacrifice. The sages call such a person a “rat”; by eating his food one is purified only with difficulty, through arduous expiation.
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FAQs
Wealth is ethically meaningful only when circulated through the three dharmic channels—rightful use (bhoga within dharma), giving (dāna), and offering (yajña). Hoarding without these duties degrades the person and renders their food socially/ritually suspect.
This is ancillary dharma-nīti material rather than one of the five core marks (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). It functions as instructive conduct literature embedded in the Purāṇic narrative frame.
The “rat” symbolizes secretive accumulation and impurity—living off stores without sacrificial reciprocity. Food becomes a marker of moral economy: what is not shared/offered is portrayed as difficult to purify.