Shloka 40
Dietary Rules & Purification — Dietary Rules, Purification (Śauca), and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller
नित्यस्य कर्मणो हानिः केवलं मृतजन्मसु न तु नैमित्तिकोच्छेदः कर्त्तव्यो हि कथञ्चन
nityasya karmaṇo hāniḥ kevalaṃ mṛtajanmasu na tu naimittikocchedaḥ karttavyo hi kathañcana
मृतजन्माशौचे नित्यकर्मणः केवलं हानिः; नैमित्तिककर्मणामुच्छेदः तु कथञ्चन न कर्तव्यः।
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FAQs
Dharma is contextual: impurity rules may temporarily suspend routine practice, yet one must not abandon cause-based duties. The teaching prioritizes discernment (viveka) over blanket renunciation of obligation.
It belongs to Purāṇic dharma-ācāra material rather than the five classical lakṣaṇas; many Purāṇas incorporate such normative guidance alongside myth and genealogy.
The distinction implies that ‘daily rhythm’ may pause under liminal conditions (birth/death), but dharma responding to a specific sacred occasion must continue—symbolizing steadiness of moral responsibility amid life’s transitions.