Shloka 14
Rules of Purity (Shauca) — Rules of Purity (Śauca), Permissible Foods, and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller
ऋषय ऊचुः सदाचारो निगदितस्तव यो ऽस्माभिरादरात् लक्षणं तस्य वक्ष्यामस्तच्छृणुष्व निशाचर
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ sadācāro nigaditastava yo 'smābhirādarāt lakṣaṇaṃ tasya vakṣyāmastacchṛṇuṣva niśācara
Para resi berkata: “Adab benar yang telah kami huraikan kepadamu dengan penuh hormat—kini kami akan menyatakan ciri-ciri penentuannya. Dengarlah, wahai pengembara malam (niśācara).”
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FAQs
Dharma is transmitted through disciplined listening (śravaṇa) and respectful instruction (ādara). The sages’ willingness to teach a niśācara indicates that ethical refinement is presented as universally applicable.
This is didactic upadeśa (instruction) rather than cosmogenesis or dynastic chronicle; it functions as ancillary dharma teaching embedded in the Purāṇic narrative frame (a common Purāṇic compositional feature beyond the five core marks).
Calling the listener ‘niśācara’ while offering dharma instruction suggests the transformative power of ācāra: conduct, not birth-category, becomes the axis of moral elevation.