Shloka 36
Dietary Rules & Purification — Dietary Rules, Purification (Śauca), and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller
आशार्तानामदाता च दातुश्च प्रतिषेधकः शरणागतं यस्त्यजति स चाण्डालो ऽधमो नरः
āśārtānāmadātā ca dātuśca pratiṣedhakaḥ śaraṇāgataṃ yastyajati sa cāṇḍālo 'dhamo naraḥ
आशार्तानामदाताऽपि दातुश्च प्रतिषेधकः; शरणागतं यस्त्यजति—स चाण्डालोऽधमो नरः।
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FAQs
The verse elevates two duties as core dharma: (1) relieving distress through giving, and (2) protecting the vulnerable who seek refuge. It also condemns indirect harm—blocking another’s charity—as ethically equivalent to refusing help oneself. The label “caṇḍāla” functions as moral, not merely social, degradation: unethical conduct makes one ‘lowest’ regardless of birth.
This is best classified under Dharma/Ācāra material rather than the five classic purāṇic marks; if mapped loosely, it aligns most closely with normative instruction embedded within narrative lineages (itihāsa/dharma-upadeśa) rather than sarga/pratisarga. It is not directly a sarga/pratisarga/vamśa/vamśānucarita/manvantara passage.
“Śaraṇāgata” symbolizes the soul or the helpless dependent; abandoning such a one is portrayed as a grave collapse of dharma. The verse also symbolically protects the ‘flow of merit’ (puṇya) in society by condemning those who obstruct generosity.