Shloka 19

सदाचार-नियमाः: शील, संयम, संग-निषेध, शुचिता, वाणी-नीति, परोपकारः

Devanagari script

न स्नायान् न स्वपेन् नग्नो न चैवोपस्पृशेद् बुधः मुक्तकच्छश् च नाचामेद् देवाद्यर्चां च वर्जयेत्

Transliteration

na snāyān na svapen nagno na caivopaspṛśed budhaḥ muktakacchaś ca nācāmed devādyarcāṃ ca varjayet

Translation

A discerning person should not bathe, sleep, or even perform purificatory sipping (ācāmana) while unclothed; nor should he touch sacred things in such a state. Likewise, with the lower garment loosened and decorum undone, he should refrain from ācāmana—and he should also avoid worship of the gods and similar rites. Through such restraint, outer order is made fit to mirror inner purity, by which devotion to the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, becomes steady and undistracted.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• स्नायात्: should bathe
• स्नायात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• स्वपेत्: should sleep
• स्वपेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्वप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• नग्नः: naked
• नग्नः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नग्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (बुधः)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय

• उपस्पृशेत्: should touch; should perform ācamana (ritual sipping)
• उपस्पृशेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-स्पृश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• बुधः: the wise man
• बुधः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मुक्तकच्छः: with loosened garment/tuck
• मुक्तकच्छः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्त-कच्छ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषप्रायः (‘मुक्तः कच्छः यस्य’) = ‘with loosened lower garment’; विशेषणम् (बुधः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• आचामेत्: should sip (water) / perform ācamana
• आचामेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-चम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• देवाद्यर्चाम्: worship of gods and the like
• देवाद्यर्चाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव-आदि-अर्चा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (देव + आदि) + अर्चा = ‘worship of gods etc.’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• वर्जयेत्: should avoid
• वर्जयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृज्/वर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Rules of purity for bathing, sleep, ācāmana, and worship

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: ritual-ethical and precise

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: External decorum and ritual purity are to be maintained so that worship and remembrance of Hari remain steady and undistracted.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Approach prayer/ritual with cleanliness and respectful attire; treat sacred spaces and practices with mindful reverence.

Vishishtadvaita: Embodied, material acts (ācāra, śauca) are meaningful auxiliaries to devotion, aligning the body (prakāra) with the Lord whom it serves (śeṣin).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Ritual worship (Arcā)
• Ācāmana

FAQs

What is the significance of ritual decorum (ācāra) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse treats bodily decorum as part of śauca (purity): certain actions—bathing, sleeping, ācāmana, and worship—are to be done with proper dress and restraint so that sacred acts are approached with reverence and steadiness.

How does Sage Parāśara explain purity practices to Maitreya here?

Parāśara frames purity as practical discipline: avoid sacred touch, ācāmana, and deity-worship when unclothed or improperly dressed, indicating that correct external conduct safeguards the sanctity of rites.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when the verse speaks of conduct, its purpose is devotional fitness: orderly purity supports focused arcā and dharma, which in the Vishnu Purana ultimately orient the practitioner toward Viṣṇu as the supreme sustaining reality.