Shloka 8
Ajāmila Delivered: Viṣṇudūtas Establish the Supremacy of the Holy Name
एतेनैव ह्यघोनोऽस्य कृतं स्यादघनिष्कृतम् । यदा नारायणायेति जगाद चतुरक्षरम् ॥ ८ ॥
etenaiva hy aghono ’sya kṛtaṁ syād agha-niṣkṛtam yadā nārāyaṇāyeti jagāda catur-akṣaram
Schon dadurch war die Sühne dieses Sünders vollbracht; denn als er „Nārāyaṇa“, die vier Silben, aussprach, tilgte allein das Ausrufen des heiligen Namens die Sündenfolgen.
Previously, when engaged in sinful activities to maintain his family, Ajāmila chanted the name of Nārāyaṇa without offenses. To chant the holy name of the Lord just to counteract one’s sinful activities, or to commit sinful activities on the strength of chanting the holy name, is offensive ( nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ ). But although Ajāmila engaged in sinful activities, he never chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa to counteract them; he simply chanted the name Nārāyaṇa to call his son. Therefore his chanting was effective. Because of chanting the holy name of Nārāyaṇa in this way, he had already vanquished the accumulated sinful reactions of many, many lives. In the beginning he was pure, but although he later committed many sinful acts, he was offenseless because he did not chant the holy name of Nārāyaṇa to counteract them. One who always chants the holy name of the Lord without offenses is always pure. As confirmed in this verse Ajāmila was already sinless, and because he chanted the name of Nārāyaṇa he remained sinless. It did not matter that he was calling his son; the name itself was effective.
FAQs
This verse states that merely uttering the four-syllabled name “Nārāyaṇa” can accomplish expiation for a person’s sins, showing the extraordinary purifying power of the Lord’s holy name.
Śukadeva explains that Ajāmila’s accidental calling of “Nārāyaṇa” became spiritually effective, forming the basis for how the Viṣṇudūtas protected him from the Yamadūtas.
Make regular nāma-japa or kīrtana a daily practice; even a struggling person can be uplifted by sincere remembrance and repetition of the Lord’s names.