Text 47
śrī-kaśyapa uvāca
na hiṁsyād bhūta-jātāni
na śapen nānṛtaṁ vadet
na chindyān nakha-romāṇi
na spṛśed yad amaṅgalam
śrī-kaśyapaḥ uvāca — Kaśyapa Muni said; na hiṁsyāt — must not harm; bhūta-jātāni — the living entities; na śapet — must not curse; na — not; anṛtam — a lie; vadet — must speak; na chindyāt — must not cut; nakha-romāṇi — the nails and hair; na spṛśet — must not touch; yat — that which; amaṅgalam — impure.
Kaśyapa Muni said: My dear wife, to follow this vow, do not be violent or cause harm to anyone. Do not curse anyone, and do not speak lies. Do not cut your nails and hair, and do not touch impure things like skulls and bones.
Kaśyapa Muni’s first instruction to his wife was not to be envious. The general tendency of anyone within this material world is to be envious, and therefore, to become a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, one must curb this tendency, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (paramo nirmatsarāṇām). A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is always nonenvious, whereas others are always envious. Thus Kaśyapa Muni’s instruction that his wife not be envious indicates that this is the first stage of advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kaśyapa Muni desired to train his wife to be a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, for this would suffice to protect both her and Indra.