Shloka 123
गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः
पर्वस्व् अभिगमो ऽधन्यो दिवा पापप्रदो नृप भुवि रोगप्रदो नॄणाम् अप्रशस्तो जलाशये
parvasv abhigamo 'dhanyo divā pāpaprado nṛpa bhuvi rogaprado nṝṇām apraśasto jalāśaye
O King, to visit (such a place) on parva-days is declared unblessed; by day it yields sin, and on earth it brings disease upon men. Therefore, regarding waters and reservoirs, it is deemed improper and not to be commended.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya; addressing a kingly archetype as 'nṛpa')
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Improper conduct regarding visits to waters/reservoirs at parvan-times and the resulting sin/disease.
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: cautionary
Concept: Certain actions around waters become blameworthy when done at ritually sensitive times (parvan) or in improper manner, yielding demerit and even bodily harm.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat sacred/communal water sources with reverence: observe hygiene, avoid risky or inappropriate behavior at sensitive times, and align routine with prayerful discipline.
Vishishtadvaita: Purity of conduct safeguards one’s capacity for bhagavad-ārādhana; the world is God’s body, so misuse of shared resources violates service.
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
Parva-days are treated as potent junction-times where actions intensify in result; this verse warns that certain visits/approaches are considered inauspicious and can yield negative karmic effects.
By stating that the same act—approaching a place—can become sin-giving by day and disease-causing on earth, Parāśara frames time and circumstance as amplifiers of karmaphala within dharmic order.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the teaching assumes a cosmos governed by divine order: observing dharma in time, place, and purity aligns life with the sovereign law upheld by Vishnu as the Supreme Reality.