Shloka 38
विष्णुं परित्यज्य वरं सुराणां संपूजयेद्योऽन्यतमं हि देवम् । गच्छेत्सगर्भां युवतीं प्रसूतां दंड्यश्च वध्यश्च स चास्मदीयैः ॥ ३८ ॥
viṣṇuṃ parityajya varaṃ surāṇāṃ saṃpūjayedyo'nyatamaṃ hi devam | gacchetsagarbhāṃ yuvatīṃ prasūtāṃ daṃḍyaśca vadhyaśca sa cāsmadīyaiḥ || 38 ||
যে দেবগণের শ্রেষ্ঠ বিষ্ণুকে ত্যাগ করে অন্য কোনো দেবতার পূজা করে, সে আমাদের রাজকর্মচারীদের দ্বারা দণ্ডনীয়, এমনকি বধ্যও; যেমন গর্ভবতী বা সদ্যপ্রসূতা যুবতীর নিকট গমন অপরাধ।
Narada (teaching in a dharma-śāstric tone within Uttara-Bhaga narration)
Vrata: none
Rasa: {"primary_rasa":"raudra","secondary_rasa":"bhayanaka","emotional_journey":"A fierce sectarian-legal warning escalates to capital punishment, reinforced by an analogy to a grave sexual transgression."}
FAQs
It asserts Viṣṇu’s supremacy and frames abandoning Him for other worship as a grave adharma, emphasizing exclusive, steadfast devotion as spiritually and socially consequential.
Bhakti here is presented as niṣṭhā (single-pointed fidelity) to Viṣṇu; shifting devotion away from Him is condemned as a serious breach, underscoring commitment as the core of Vaiṣṇava practice.
Rather than a Vedāṅga technicality, the verse reflects rāja-dharma and smṛti-style legal reasoning—using a strong moral analogy to define a punishable offense and deter transgressive conduct.