Apaddharma

Religious protocol that comes into effect
in times of distress, disturbance, natural
disaster, or social deterioration. The
practical effect of apaddharma is to suspend most of the normal social rules,
particularly those governing interaction
and commensality between different
social subgroups (jatis). In ordinary circumstances these rules are affected by
concepts of purity, impurity (ashaucha),
and relative social status.
The underlying message here is
that the preservation of life is more
important than such rules, and that
they can be broken to save a life—as in
the case of escaping a fire or flood, in
which the usual concerns about physical contact with lower-status people
are suspended.