Padma Purana — Svarga Khanda, Shloka 36
Prohibitions and Rules of Right Conduct (Ācāra): Theft, Speech, Purity, Residence, and Social Boundaries
वेदनिंदां देवनिंदां प्रयत्नेन विवर्जयेत् । यस्तु देवानृषींश्चैव वेदान्वा निंदते द्विजः
vedaniṃdāṃ devaniṃdāṃ prayatnena vivarjayet | yastu devānṛṣīṃścaiva vedānvā niṃdate dvijaḥ
वेदों की निंदा और देवताओं की निंदा का यत्नपूर्वक त्याग करे। जो द्विज देवों, ऋषियों या वेदों की निंदा करता है—
Unspecified (narratorial injunction within Svargakhaṇḍa; dialogue frame not provided in the input)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Sandhi Resolution Notes: vedaniṃdāṃ → veda-nindām; devaniṃdāṃ → deva-nindām; yastu → yaḥ tu; devānṛṣīṃścaiva → devān ṛṣīn ca eva; vedānvā → vedān vā
FAQs
It teaches a rule of dharma: one should actively refrain from reviling the Vedas and the gods, treating such speech as a serious moral fault.
“Dvija” literally means “twice-born,” referring to an initiated person (traditionally Brahmin, and in some contexts other initiated varṇas) who bears special responsibility to uphold Vedic respect and conduct.
They represent interconnected authorities in the Purāṇic worldview: the Vedas as sacred revelation, the devas as cosmic administrators honored in Vedic ritual, and the rishis as seers/transmitters of Vedic knowledge—so reviling any of them is portrayed as a grave breach of reverence.