Vamana Purana — Rules of Purity (Shauca), Shloka 42
Rules of Purity (Śauca), Permissible Foods, and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller
वृथाटनान्नित्यहानिर्वृथादानाद्धनक्षयः वृथा पशुघ्नः प्राप्नोति पातकं नरकप्रदम्
vṛthāṭanānnityahānirvṛthādānāddhanakṣayaḥ vṛthā paśughnaḥ prāpnoti pātakaṃ narakapradam
निरर्थक भटकण्याने दररोज हानी (वेळ व कर्तव्याची) होते; निष्फळ दानाने धनक्षय होतो. जो कारणाविना पशु मारतो तो नरक देणारे पातक प्राप्त करतो.
{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Purāṇic ethics ties actions to tangible outcomes: wasted time erodes daily duty, indiscriminate charity erodes resources, and needless violence produces heavy demerit. The verse argues for purposeful living and non-harm as pragmatic and spiritual necessities.
Didactic dharma instruction; it functions as moral-education within Purāṇic discourse rather than as a core pancalakṣaṇa narrative unit.
The triad—time, wealth, and life (of animals)—maps to three ‘currencies’ of dharma; wasting any of them is portrayed as a direct path to decline, culminating in naraka as the symbol of extreme moral disintegration.