प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च जना न विदुरासुराः | न शौचं नापि चाचारो न सत्यं तेषु विद्यते ||
pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ na śaucaṁ nāpi cācāro na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate
Translation
The demoniac do not know what to do and what to refrain from; neither purity, nor right conduct, nor truth is found in them.
Interpretation
The fundamental problem of the asuri nature: confusion about pravritta and nivritti — what to pursue and what to avoid. This ethical confusion is the source of all the specific faults that follow. Without clarity about the difference between helpful and harmful, the demoniac person cannot act rightly regardless of intelligence or resources. Additionally, the three foundations of civilized life — purity (shaucha), right conduct (achara), and truth (satya) — are absent. These are not incidental failings but the core absence from which all other problems flow.