Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 96
Pāpa-bheda, Naraka-yātanā, Mahāpātaka-vicāra, Atonement Limits, Daśa-vidhā Bhakti, and Gaṅgā as Final Remedy
स घोरं नरकं यातिव्याघ्रपक्षं चतुर्युगम् । यः स्वकर्मपरित्यागी पाषण्डीत्युच्यते बुधैः ॥ ९६ ॥
sa ghoraṃ narakaṃ yātivyāghrapakṣaṃ caturyugam | yaḥ svakarmaparityāgī pāṣaṇḍītyucyate budhaiḥ || 96 ||
إنه يذهب إلى الجحيم الرهيب المسمّى «فياغرابكشا» (Vyāghrapakṣa) مدةَ أربعة يوجا؛ ومن يهجر واجباته المقرّرة يُسمّيه الحكماء pāṣaṇḍin (زنديقًا متمرّدًا).
Sanatkumara (in instruction to Narada, within the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue on dharma)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
It asserts that spiritual progress requires fidelity to one’s scripturally defined responsibilities (svakarma); rejecting them is portrayed as a grave dharmic rupture with severe karmic consequences.
It implies bhakti must be aligned with dharma—devotion is not a license to discard righteous conduct; abandoning ordained duties is condemned as pāṣaṇḍa rather than praised as spirituality.
The verse points to the applied side of Dharma-śāstra and Kalpa (ritual and conduct): knowing and performing one’s prescribed rites and obligations instead of rejecting them under misguided doctrines.