Shloka 101
गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः
सूर्येणाभ्युदितो यश् च त्यक्तः सूर्येण च स्वपन् अन्यत्रातुरभावात् तु प्रायश्चित्तीयते नरः
sūryeṇābhyudito yaś ca tyaktaḥ sūryeṇa ca svapan anyatrāturabhāvāt tu prāyaścittīyate naraḥ
A man who remains in bed after the Sun has risen, or who falls asleep while the Sun is still up—except in illness—becomes one who must perform expiation (prāyaścitta).
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Faults in daily discipline regarding sunrise/sunset conduct and the need for prāyaścitta
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: admonitory
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: Sleeping past sunrise or sleeping while the Sun is still up (except due to illness) is a dharmic lapse requiring expiation, since the Sun’s course embodies the governance of cosmic order.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Align sleep and work with natural light cycles; treat time-discipline as spiritual discipline, with gentle corrective practices when one falls off routine.
Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic sovereignty expressed through the Sun is part of the Lord’s immanent rule; honoring it becomes embodied obedience to the Supreme’s ordinance (niyati) rather than mere social convention.
Vishnu Form: Narayana
Bhakti Type: Dasya
FAQs
This verse treats the Sun as the visible regulator of dharmic time: rising after sunrise or sleeping before sunset (without illness) is a breach of proper conduct that calls for prāyaścitta.
Parāśara frames expiation as a corrective measure for lapses in daily discipline—faults that disturb one’s alignment with the ordained rhythm of duties marked by the Sun.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the teaching implies a Vaishnava cosmology where universal order is sustained by the Supreme; the Sun’s course becomes a practical sign of that sustaining sovereignty, and dharma is living in accord with it.