Shloka 7
अज्ञान–लोभयोः परस्परहेतुत्वम्
Mutual Causality of Ignorance and Greed
यज्ञो दानं दया वेदा: सत्यं च पृथिवीपते । पज्चैतानि पवित्राणि षष्ठ॑ सुचरितं तप:
yajño dānaṃ dayā vedāḥ satyaṃ ca pṛthivīpate | pañcaitāni pavitrāṇi ṣaṣṭhaṃ sucaritaṃ tapaḥ ||
Śaunaka dit : «Ô seigneur de la terre, le sacrifice, la charité, la compassion, les Veda et la vérité : ces cinq-là sont déclarés purifiants. Avec eux, l’austérité bien pratiquée et conduite avec droiture est comptée comme la sixième discipline purificatrice.»
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lists foundational purifiers of conduct—sacrifice (consecrated action), charity, compassion, fidelity to Vedic wisdom, and truthfulness—and adds that austerity becomes equally purifying only when it is rightly practised (sucarita), i.e., disciplined and ethically aligned rather than harsh or ego-driven.
Śaunaka addresses a king (‘lord of the earth’) and summarizes a dharma-teaching by enumerating the practices considered spiritually and morally purifying, framing them as guidance for righteous governance and personal discipline.