Rules of Purity (Shauca) — Rules of Purity (Śauca), Permissible Foods, and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller
इती श्रीवामनपुराणे त्रयोदशो ऽध्यायः ऋषय ऊचुः अहिंसा सत्यमस्तं दानं क्षान्तिर्दमः शमः अकार्पण्यं च शौचं च तपश्च रजनीचर
itī śrīvāmanapurāṇe trayodaśo 'dhyāyaḥ ṛṣaya ūcuḥ ahiṃsā satyamastaṃ dānaṃ kṣāntirdamaḥ śamaḥ akārpaṇyaṃ ca śaucaṃ ca tapaśca rajanīcara
Les sages dirent : Non-violence (ahiṃsā), véracité (satya), foi droite (āstikya), don (dāna), patience et pardon (kṣānti), maîtrise de soi (dama), paix de l’esprit (śama), absence d’avarice (akārpaṇya), pureté (śauca) et austérité (tapas) — tels sont les principes du dharma, ô rôdeur nocturne (rākṣasa).
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
The text foregrounds universal virtues (sādhāraṇa-dharma) as the foundation of righteous life, notable for being taught even to a rākṣasa—implying dharma is not confined to birth but to conduct.
This passage is best classified under dharma-upadeśa within narrative instruction; it is adjacent to Vamśānucarita/Manvantara-style teaching sections rather than sarga/pratisarga proper, functioning as normative guidance embedded in the Purāṇic frame.
By addressing a ‘night-roamer’ with a list of virtues, the Purāṇa symbolically asserts that inner transformation is possible for all beings; ethical light can be brought into ‘night’ (tamas) through disciplines like śama, dama, and tapas.