Shloka 11
न श्मश्रु भक्षयेल् लोष्टं न मृद् नीयाद् विचक्षणः ज्योतींष्य् अमेध्यः शस्तानि नाभिवीक्षेत च प्रभो
na śmaśru bhakṣayel loṣṭaṃ na mṛd nīyād vicakṣaṇaḥ jyotīṃṣy amedhyaḥ śastāni nābhivīkṣeta ca prabho
O Lord, a discerning man should not bite his own moustache or beard, nor carry about lumps of clay or earth; and, mindful of purity, he should not stare at impure things, at sacred fires or lights, or at weapons.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Rules of purity, restraint, and auspicious conduct (śauca/ācāra) in daily life
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Śauca is protected by disciplined bodily habits and by avoiding improper contact or gaze toward impure objects, sacred fires/luminaries, and weapons.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Cultivate mindful boundaries—avoid sensational/impure stimuli, treat sacred symbols with reverence, and keep one’s habits dignified and non-compulsive.
Vishishtadvaita: Ethical śauca supports bhakti by keeping the body-mind fit to serve the indwelling Lord (śarīra as instrument of service).
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
The verse frames small bodily and sensory disciplines as dharma: by avoiding impure sights and careless habits, one preserves inner steadiness and ritual/social purity, which supports the larger order upheld by Vishnu.
Parāśara teaches through concrete prohibitions—what not to do with the body, what not to carry, and what not to gaze at—showing that dharma is practiced through everyday restraint and attentiveness.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s logic is that disciplined dharma sustains the cosmic order governed by Vishnu; ethical and ritual self-control becomes a lived alignment with the Supreme Sovereign’s law.