Shloka 9
गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः
नैरृत्याम् इषुविक्षेपम् अतीत्याभ्यधिकं भुवः दूराद् आवसथान् मूत्रं पुरीषं च समुत्सृजेत्
nairṛtyām iṣuvikṣepam atītyābhyadhikaṃ bhuvaḥ dūrād āvasathān mūtraṃ purīṣaṃ ca samutsṛjet
In the south‑western direction, having gone beyond an arrow’s range—and farther still, away from dwellings—one should relieve oneself, casting off urine and feces.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Rules of purity and hygiene in daily conduct (ācāra), including directional and distance prescriptions
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: practical and regulatory
Concept: Personal and communal purity is protected by disposing of bodily waste away from dwellings, following prescribed directions and distance.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Maintain hygienic boundaries and sanitation practices that protect community health and ritual cleanliness.
Vishishtadvaita: Embodied discipline (śauca) supports sattva and readiness for devotion; the body is treated as an instrument in the Lord’s service.
FAQs
This verse treats śauca as a practical discipline: maintaining distance from dwellings while relieving oneself protects communal cleanliness and supports dharma as social and cosmic order.
Parāśara gives concrete behavioral rules—direction and distance—showing that dharma includes embodied habits that uphold purity, restraint, and harmony in community living.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purana frames dharma and purity as part of the ordered world sustained by the Supreme—Vishnu—so personal discipline becomes participation in that sustaining order.