None shall ever excrete, urinate, or spit at the places prohibited by the public or by the scriptures.
None shall ever excrete, urinate, or spit at the places prohibited by the public or by the scriptures.
Sthaneshu Lokashastrabhyam Nishidveshu Kadachana |
Malmutrotsarjanam Cha Na Karyam Stivanam Tatha ||
Those places (Sthaneshu) forbidden (Nishidveshu) by society (Loka) and scriptures (Shastras) should never (Kadachana) be excreted (Mal), urinated (Mutram) in nor spitted (Stivanam) upon.
Shatanand forbids the pass of nose mucus in such places as well. He further adds to the list of places which should not be violated in this way: firstly the places prohibited by society are as follows - near somebody else’s house, in a king’s place of residence and near the place of an armed warrior. Secondly the places prohibited by Shastras are: where cows are kept, near a burrow, in water (pond etc.), in a pile of ashes, an estuary where animals live, standing in a path, in front of or in close proximity of either a cow, Brahmin, sun, moon, fire, Guru, women and God, a ploughed field, banks of a river, in sand, an old ruin, in a temple of God, in a road. a cleansed area and without covering your head.
Thus these places as ordained by Skanda Purana and so shall never be excreted or urinated in. Hence all places other than those mentioned may be used for excretion purposes. The twelve forms of excretion (Mal) are given in Sharirik Samgraha: (i) tallow (ii) semen (iii) blood (iv) the marrow of a bone (v) urine (vi) excrement (dung) (vii) ear and skin dirt (wax) (viii) nails (ix) nose mucus (x) tears (xi) eye mucus and (xii) perspiration. The Lord has mentioned only two forms of excretion (Mal) in the original text but all such forms of Mal should not be passed in such places.
This Shloka seems blatantly obvious but it had to be included in the Shikshapatri as often we may pass such excretion without thought. In essence we really should perform calls of nature in one’s home - the bathroom/toilet as such place is designated for such action. Never should we perform such act outside in the open air.
Lord Swaminarayan calls for hygiene and social decorum here. Passing bodily filth in various places mentioned is uncivilised, impure and an insult. Purity and cleanliness are human directives. Nature and the world around us are to be kept pure and clean and never to be made filthy by passing of bodily waste. Nature is home to many creatures and so we should respect it by keeping it clean just as we keep our own homes clean. We have absolutely no right to pass filth in such places. One must always, even in times of desperation, be civilised and never to violate the world around us.
Many diseases are caused by such dirt being exposed to the land and air. An improper sewage system causes great illness to those in close proximity and therefore it is vital that we have respect for nature and the world we live in.