Shloka 21
ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property
Brahmasva
स्वाध्यायैस्तु महत्पापं हरन्ति गृहमेधिन:
svādhyāyais tu mahat pāpaṁ haranti gṛhamedhinaḥ
Le maître de maison, par le svādhyāya—l’étude pieuse et la récitation des Écritures sacrées—efface même les grands péchés. Cette parole affirme que l’apprentissage discipliné et la pratique scripturaire quotidienne ne sont pas de simples exercices de l’esprit, mais une purification morale, accessible au cœur même de la vie domestique.
चाण्डाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Regular svādhyāya—disciplined study and recitation of sacred teachings—has purificatory power; even a householder engaged in worldly responsibilities can remove grave moral taint through sustained scriptural practice.
A speaker identified as a Caṇḍāla states a dharma-principle: householders are not excluded from spiritual purification; through svādhyāya they can eradicate great sin, emphasizing practice over social status.