Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 34, Shloka 89
Adhyaya 34 — Madālāsā’s Instruction on Sadācāra (Householder Conduct, Purity, and Daily Rites)
सार्धं न बलिभिः कुर्यान्न च न्यूनैर्न निन्दितैः ।
न सर्वशङ्किभिर्नित्यं न च दैवपरैर्नरैः ॥
sārdhaṃ na balibhiḥ kuryān na ca nyūnair na ninditaiḥ |
na sarvaśaṅkibhir nityaṃ na ca daivaparair naraiḥ ||
不应与强横有势者往来结盟，不与卑劣者往来，不与可责之人往来；也不应常与疑心遍起者相处，亦不与唯凭宿命而行之人相交。
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FAQs
Choose collaborators wisely: the overbearing can exploit, the deficient may be unable to sustain obligations, the censured bring reputational harm, the perpetually suspicious destroy trust, and the fatalist avoids responsibility. Dharma here is expressed as sustainable, accountable social cooperation.
Dharma-oriented instruction (ācāra/nīti), ancillary to Purāṇic narrative; not one of the five defining lakṣaṇas.
The verse maps inner ‘companions’ too: overpowering impulses (balin), weak resolve (nyūna), compromised ethics (nindita), constant doubt (sarvaśaṅkā), and fatalism (daivaparatā) obstruct disciplined action (karma-yoga).