The Dosha of Unnecessary Contact with Dogs

The Dosha of Unnecessary Contact with Dogs

Unnecessary physical contact with a dog results in Dosha (spiritual impurity).

According to Dharma Shastra, the sounds made by dogs, cats, and owls are generally considered inauspicious. Today, dogs roam freely in many homes and temples. However, a dog should ideally remain at a distance outside the house. Dogs and cats are not permitted inside temples, Yagasalas (ritual enclosures), or the main living areas of a home. Any ritual offering (Havis) seen by a dog becomes impure; performing divine or ancestral rites with such items yields no benefit.

If the sound of a dog is heard during Pitru Karyas (ancestral rituals), the ancestors are said to leave with a curse. Dogs are categorized as Sarameya or Svana, and there is a distinction between the two, including their astrological significance. Today, many people roam the streets feeding biscuits to dogs, claiming it pleases Lord Shanaishchara (Saturn) or Lord Bhairava. To say that raising a dog is a remedy for Saturn or Bhairava is a fabrication. Not every wandering dog is Bhairava’s vehicle; only the Svana is the vehicle. Just because a common krait is a snake, is it the bed of the Lord? Only Adisesha is the bed! Without knowing the right links, people watch random content on Facebook and YouTube and end up incurring Dosha.

Let me tell you one thing: go ahead and feed street dogs for 10 years, stroking them while calling them "Bhairava," and then experience for yourself how your life situation changes! Those who don't understand through words must learn through experience. I have another doubt: people raise dogs, cuddle them, put them on their beds, and bathe them with care—but if you call that same person a "dog," they get angry. If we are happy to be called a "lion" but angry to be called a "dog," I don't understand why... shouldn't a dog be "Bhairava" in your eyes?

The Shastras state that everything "forbidden" in this world belongs to Yama (the God of Death). Among such forbidden beings are dogs and cats; it is said that Preta Vasam (the dwelling of spirits) exists in their hair follicles. It means that in whichever house their fur falls, the messengers of Yama (Yama Kinkaras) will reside. Through dogs and cats, certain happenings in that house become known to Yama. One can sense the presence of these messengers through certain signs. If you have a garden, you may tie a dog there, feed it on the ground at night, and use it for security—but it should not be allowed inside the house. It causes a great Dosha. One should not even look a dog directly in the eye.

One should not touch them unnecessarily. If touched, one must take a bath. You might make "reels" with a dog in a puja room or temple, but it is of no spiritual value. Is a dog's arrival the arrival of Bhairava? Then if a krait enters your house, why don't you pray to it as Lord Narayana’s bed and let it stay in your bedroom?

Well... Goddess Parasakthi sits upon a lion! Shall we all try keeping a lion then? Or shall we take all our rice and lentils and put them in a rat hole so Lord Ganesha can eat them? Isn't that "devotion" too, bro?

Every living being is God's creation; even a worm has its role. The same goes for the dog. It is best to let it do its job. A dog should be a dog, and a human should be a human. If a dog enters a Yagasala or a temple, it must be driven out; don't just stand there claiming it’s Bhairava. If a six-foot snake enters your house, would you keep it and raise it saying the "Goddess has arrived"? Even in a Bhairava temple, dogs are not permitted.

That said, even if it is a dog, one should not hurt or torture it unnecessarily. Puranas state that if we cause unnecessary suffering to them, we will face unexplained suffering. Not just dogs, but no creature should be tormented. Let them do their work, and let us do ours.

Let a dog be a dog, and let us be ourselves.

Narayana. 👍