Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 15
Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata
अज्ञानं चाप्यमुयत्वमशौचमशुभावहम् स्मृतं तत् पञ्चदशममस्त्यवचनानि च
ajñānaṃ cāpyamuyatvamaśaucamaśubhāvaham smṛtaṃ tat pañcadaśamamastyavacanāni ca
Ignorance, and also “amuyatva” (a deluded state as if one were ‘not here’), and impurity (aśauca) that brings inauspicious results—these are remembered as the fifteenth item; and also false statements (untruthful utterances).
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FAQs
In Purāṇic dharma lists, ajñāna and aśauca are not only states but causes of harmful action: ignorance leads to adharma through wrong judgment, while aśauca denotes both ritual pollution and moral uncleanliness that obstructs worship, social order, and self-restraint—thus producing ‘aśubha’ (inauspicious karmic results).
The word is rare; in context with ajñāna and aśauca it most plausibly denotes culpable delusion, heedlessness, or a ‘not-present’ mental state (as if one is ‘elsewhere’), i.e., negligence that enables wrongdoing. A critical edition or parallel dharma-list would be needed to fix the exact nuance.
It places lying alongside foundational inner faults (ignorance, delusion, impurity), implying that untruth is not a minor lapse but a root-level breach of dharma that destabilizes trust, ritual integrity, and moral order.