Shloka 89
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
अहिंसाधर्मसंयुक्ता: प्रचरेयु: सुरोत्तमा: । स वो देश: सेवितव्यो मा वो<धर्म: पदा स्पृशेत्
ahiṃsā-dharma-saṃyuktāḥ pracareyuḥ surottamāḥ | sa vo deśaḥ sevitavyo mā vo dharmaḥ padā spṛśet |
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô meilleurs des dieux, allez et venez en demeurant unis au dharma de la non-violence (ahiṃsā). Que cette terre soit votre demeure choisie et votre lieu de service, afin que votre dharma ne soit pas souillé—afin qu’il ne soit pas “touché par le pied”, c’est-à-dire piétiné ou transgressé.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges conduct grounded in ahiṃsā (non-violence) and warns against any action that would degrade or violate dharma—expressed through the vivid idiom of dharma being ‘touched by the foot,’ i.e., trampled or defiled.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, conveys an instruction addressed to ‘the best of the gods,’ advising them to dwell or operate in a suitable region while maintaining non-violent, dharmic conduct, so their righteousness remains untainted.