Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 15
अध्याय १३२ — कर्मणा मनसा वाचा: स्वर्गमार्गः तथा आयुर्विपाकः
Adhyāya 132 — The path to heaven through deed, mind, and speech; karmic results for lifespan
धौग्य उवाच भिन्नभाण्डं च खट्वां च कुक्कुटं शुनकं॑ तथा । अप्रशस्तानि सर्वाणि यश्न वृक्षो गृहेरुह:
Dhaumya uvāca: bhinnabhāṇḍaṃ ca khaṭvāṃ ca kukkuṭaṃ śunakaṃ tathā | apraśastāni sarvāṇi yaś ca vṛkṣo gṛheruhaḥ ||
धौम्य बोले—घर में फूटा बर्तन, टूटी खाट, मुर्गा, कुत्ता तथा घर के भीतर उगा हुआ कोई भी वृक्ष—ये सब अशुभ माने गए हैं। सुगठित गृहस्थ-धर्म में इनका त्याग ही प्रशस्त कहा गया है।
धौग्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights gṛhastha-ācāra: maintaining a household free from objects and conditions traditionally deemed apraśasta (not commendable/inauspicious). The emphasis is on order, cleanliness, and culturally recognized signs that are believed to affect domestic well-being and harmony.
Dhaumya is instructing about household propriety by listing items considered undesirable within a home—broken utensils and furniture, certain animals kept within, and trees growing inside the dwelling—framing them as signs to be avoided in a disciplined domestic life.