Shloka 62
Saṅkara-jāti-nirṇaya and Gṛhastha-ācāra: Daily Rites, Purity, Anadhyāya, and Food Discipline
क्रूरोग्रपतितव्रात्यदाम्भिकोच्छिष्टभोजिनाम् / शास्त्रविक्रयिणश्चैव स्त्रीजितग्रामयाजिनाम्
krūrograpatitavrātyadāmbhikocchiṣṭabhojinām / śāstravikrayiṇaścaiva strījitagrāmayājinām
残忍で苛烈な者、堕落した者とヴラーティヤ（ヴェーダの規律から逸れた者）、偽善者、他人の食べ残しを食う者、聖なる学びを売り物にする者を避けよ。さらに、女に支配される者、そして生計のために村全体のための祭式を執り行う村の祭司（ダルマのためでない者）も避けよ。
Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vinata-putra, within the Preta Khanda dialogue frame)
Concept: Dharma declines through cruelty, apostasy from Vedic discipline, hypocrisy, impurity in food-sharing, and commercialization of śāstra/ritual.
Vedantic Theme: Protection of sattva and śraddhā by honoring sacred knowledge as non-commodity; purity of anna and intention (bhāva).
Application: Avoid hypocritical mentors and transactional spirituality; keep food practices clean; seek teachers who transmit knowledge as dharma, not merchandise.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.96.60–64 (avoidance lists)
FAQs
This verse functions as an ethical diagnostic: it names conduct considered dharma-violating, used in the text to explain how specific character traits and professions corrupted by greed lead to negative karmic outcomes after death.
By categorizing adharmic lifestyles (cruelty, hypocrisy, ritual impurity, and commodifying sacred knowledge), the Garuda Purana links one’s habitual actions to post-death suffering and lower destinations, emphasizing moral causality rather than randomness.
Avoid cruelty and perform religious practice without hypocrisy or greed; treat sacred learning as a responsibility (not a commodity), maintain purity in food and conduct, and ensure rituals are done with sincerity rather than mere livelihood.