Shloka 22

नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्

Devanagari script

रङ्गोपजीवी कैवर्तः कुण्डाशी गरदस् तथा सूची माहिषिकश् चैव पर्वगामी च यो द्विजः

Transliteration

raṅgopajīvī kaivartaḥ kuṇḍāśī garadas tathā sūcī māhiṣikaś caiva parvagāmī ca yo dvijaḥ

Translation

రంగస్థల వినోదాలతో జీవించే ద్విజుడు, మత్స్యకార వృత్తిని అనుసరించేవాడు, ఒకే కుండలో వండిన అన్నం తినేవాడు, విషవ్యాపారి, సూచి పనితో జీవించేవాడు, మహిష వ్యాపారి, లేదా కొండకొండ తిరిగే వాడు—ఇలాంటి వాడు ఇక్కడ చెప్పిన ధర్మ ప్రమాణంలో నిందనీయం.

Word by Word

रङ्गोपजीवीone who lives by stage/acting

कैवर्तःfisherman

कुण्डाशीone who eats from a pot (impure eater)

गरदःpoisoner

तथाand likewise

सूचीtailor; needle-worker

माहिषिकःbuffalo-herd; one dealing with buffaloes

चand

एवindeed

पर्वगामीone who goes about on festival days

चand

यःwho

द्विजःa twice-born (Brahmin etc.)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Consequences of adharmic livelihoods and conduct; classification of censured twice-born occupations

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: For a dvija, adopting degrading or harmful livelihoods is a breach of dharma and warrants censure.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Choose work that does not exploit, deceive, or harm beings, and align livelihood with integrity and restraint.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma as service to the Lord’s order: ethical livelihood preserves the harmony of His embodied universe (jagat as His śarīra).

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

Maitreya

Dvija (twice-born)

FAQs

What is the significance of listing occupations like theatre, fishing, and dealing in poison in the Vishnu Purana?

The verse uses livelihood as a marker of dharma-compatibility for a dvija, warning that certain trades were traditionally seen as compromising ritual purity and social responsibility within varna-āśrama norms.

How does Sage Parāśara explain right conduct for a dvija in this chapter?

By enumerating censured behaviors and livelihoods, Parāśara frames dharma as disciplined living—where food sources, professions, and habits must support self-restraint and sacred duty rather than undermine it.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when the topic is social law, the Purana’s underlying premise is that dharma sustains the cosmic order governed by Vishnu; ethical livelihood becomes a practical way to live in harmony with that supreme sustaining reality.