tasmād daivopapannena muny-annenāpi dharmavit |
santuṣṭo’har ahaḥ kuryān nitya-naimittikīḥ kriyāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.11)
“Therefore, one who knows dharma and is contented should perform one’s regular and incidental duties day by day even with the foods of the sages which are obtained by destiny.”
na dadyād āmiṣaṁ śrāddhe na cādyād dharma-tattvavit |
muny-annaiḥ syāt parā prītir yathā na paśu-hiṁsayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.7)
“One who knows the truth of dharma shall never offer flesh in a śrāddha nor shall one ever eat it. Satisfaction [of Bhagavān, as well as the devas, forefathers, other living beings, so forth] shall come about with the foods of the sages, and not so through animal slaughter.”
sa kartā sarva-dharmāṇāṁ bhakto yas tava keśava |
sa kartā sarva-pāpānāṁ yo na bhaktas tavācyuta ||
dharmo bhavaty adharmo’pi kṛto bhaktais tavācyuta |
pāpaṁ bhavati dharmo’pi tavābhaktaiḥ kṛto hareḥ ||
(Skanda Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.90)
“He who is your bhakta is a performer of all dharma, O Keśava, and he who is not your bhakta is a performer of all sins, O Acyuta. Even adharma performed by your bhaktas [e.g., some occasional excessive acceptance of donations at a tīrtha or similar place] becomes dharma [because it is for your sake, by virtue of the sincerity of your bhakta], O Acyuta, and even dharma performed by non-bhaktas [e.g., performance of yoga and so on] becomes sin [because of disregard for you], O Hari.”
naitādṛśaḥ paro dharmo nṛṇāṁ sad-dharmam icchatām |
nyāso daṇḍasya bhūteṣu mano-vāk-kāyajasya yaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.8)
“For human beings who aspire to follow the highest dharma, there is no better dharma than this: giving up violence—caused by the mind, words, or the body—towards living beings.”
yena yāvān yathādharmo dharmo veha samīhitaḥ |
sa eva tat-phalaṁ bhuṅkte tathā tāvad amutra vai ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.1.45)
“As and to the extent one engages in dharma and adharma here, so and to that extent one will receive the result of that hereafter.”
dharmo viśvasya jagataḥ pratiṣṭhā | … dharme sarvaṁ pratiṣṭhitam |
(Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad: 79.7)
“Dharma is the foundation of the entire world. … Everything is founded on dharma.”
paropadeśe pāṇḍityaṁ sarveṣāṁ sukaraṁ nṛṇām |
dharme svīyam anuṣṭhānaṁ kasyacit tu mahātmanaḥ ||
(Hitopedeśa: 1.107; cited in the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.4.18)
“Erudition in instructing others is easy for everyone; only a few great souls actually practice dharma themselves.”
āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca
sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām |
dharmo hi teṣām adhiko viśeṣo
dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ ||
(Hitopadeśa: Maṅgalācaraṇam, 25)
“Eating, sleeping, fearing, and mating—these on the part of humans are common with animals. Dharma is their [i.e., humans’] greater, distinguishing quality. Those who are devoid of dharma are the same as animals.”
api kriyārthaṁ sulabhaṁ samit-kuśaṁ
jalāny api snāna-vidhi kṣamāṇi te |
api sva-śaktyā tapasi vartase
śarīram ādyaṁ khalu dharma-sādhanam ||
(Kumāra-sambhavam: 5.33; cited in Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2016)
[Śiva in the form of a young boy asks Pārvatī the following questions as she is performing ongoing penance to attain Śiva as her husband:] “Are samit and kuśa for your rites easy for you to obtain? Do you have suitable water for your regular baths? Are you engaging in austerities according to your ability? The body, indeed, is the primary means of [following] dharma.”
