Shloka 6
Pātra-Nirṇaya and Ritual Procedure: Who to Feed, Who to Avoid, and Step-by-Step Śrāddha Performance
अभिशस्तस् तथा स्तेनः पिशुनो ग्रामयाजकः भृतकाध्यापकस् तद्वद् भृतकाध्यापितश् च यः
abhiśastas tathā stenaḥ piśuno grāmayājakaḥ bhṛtakādhyāpakas tadvad bhṛtakādhyāpitaś ca yaḥ
Demikian pula tercela: pelaku yang diumumkan bersalah, pencuri, pengadu fitnah, pendeta desa yang menjadikan ritus sebagai mata pencaharian; juga guru yang mengajar demi upah, dan murid yang belajar demi upah—mereka ini dinyatakan tercemar dalam laku.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
FAQs
This verse treats sacred duties (ritual and instruction) as obligations meant for dharma, not commerce; turning them into trade is presented as a moral impurity that disrupts social and spiritual order.
By listing specific character-types—thief, slanderer, denounced offender, and those who commercialize sacred roles—Parāśara frames impurity primarily as ethical corruption rather than mere external status.
Even without naming Viṣṇu directly, the teaching assumes dharma as part of the cosmic order ultimately grounded in Viṣṇu’s supreme governance; violating dharma is implicitly a violation of that higher order.