Shloka 38
Rules of Purity (Shauca) — Rules of Purity (Śauca), Permissible Foods, and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller
देशानुशिष्टं कुल धर्ममग्र्यं स्वगोत्रधर्मं न हि संत्यजेत् तेनार्थसिद्धिं समुपाचरेत नासत्प्रलापं न च सत्यहीनम्
deśānuśiṣṭaṃ kula dharmamagryaṃ svagotradharmaṃ na hi saṃtyajet tenārthasiddhiṃ samupācareta nāsatpralāpaṃ na ca satyahīnam
ไม่พึงละทิ้งธรรมแห่งตระกูลอันประเสริฐที่สืบสอนตามจารีตแห่งถิ่น และไม่พึงละทิ้งธรรมแห่งโคตรของตน ด้วยการยึดมั่นในนั้นย่อมบรรลุความสำเร็จแห่งกิจ ไม่พึงเพ้อเจ้อด้วยถ้อยคำอสัตย์ และไม่พึงกล่าววาจาอันปราศจากความจริง
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FAQs
Ethics here is continuity-based: one’s duties are not self-invented but received through family, clan, and region, and are to be upheld with truthful speech. The verse also ties moral discipline to practical flourishing (artha-siddhi), suggesting that integrity is socially and instrumentally stabilizing.
This is didactic ācāra material—normative guidance that Purāṇas embed alongside the five hallmark topics. It supports ‘vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita’ sections by preserving lineage identity (kula/gotra) and the ethical code that sustains it.
‘Deśa–kula–gotra’ forms a threefold matrix of identity (place, family, lineage). Truthful speech is presented as the binding force that keeps this matrix coherent; abandoning it leads to social and spiritual dislocation.