Shloka 96
मायामोह-प्रवर्तन, वेदमार्ग-बहिष्कार, तथा पाषण्ड-संसर्ग-दोषः
Māyāmoha’s Delusion, Rejection of the Vedic Path, and the Fault of Heretical Association
एष पाषण्डसंभाषदोषः प्रोक्तो मया द्विज तथाश्वमेधावभृथस्नानमाहात्म्यम् एव च
eṣa pāṣaṇḍasaṃbhāṣadoṣaḥ prokto mayā dvija tathāśvamedhāvabhṛthasnānamāhātmyam eva ca
હે દ્વિજ! પાષંડીઓ સાથે સંભાષણ કરવાથી થતો દોષ મેં કહ્યો; તેમજ અશ્વમેધ યજ્ઞના અંતે થનારા અવભૃથ‑સ્નાનનું માહાત્મ્ય પણ વર્ણવ્યું।
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
FAQs
This verse frames such conversation as a doṣa (spiritual/social fault), reinforcing the Purana’s emphasis on guarding śruti-based dharma and avoiding influences that undermine Vedic conduct.
He presents it as a rite of purification and completion—its māhātmyam (merit) is highlighted as the culminating sanctification of a major royal sacrifice.
In the Vishnu Purana’s dharma sections, Vedic rites and purity norms are ultimately upheld as part of Viṣṇu’s cosmic order—dharma functions as the stabilizing expression of the Supreme Reality’s governance of the world.