Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28
Pāpa-bheda, Naraka-yātanā, Mahāpātaka-vicāra, Atonement Limits, Daśa-vidhā Bhakti, and Gaṅgā as Final Remedy
दम्भाचाररतश्वैव ब्रह्महेत्यभिधीयते । नित्यं प्रतिग्रहरतस्तथा प्राणिवधे रतः ॥ २८ ॥
dambhācārarataśvaiva brahmahetyabhidhīyate | nityaṃ pratigraharatastathā prāṇivadhe rataḥ || 28 ||
Wer sich heuchlerischem Wandel hingibt, wird wahrlich „Brahmanenmörder“ (brahmahā) genannt. Ebenso gilt: Wer stets auf das Annehmen von Gaben aus ist, und wer Gefallen am Töten lebender Wesen findet, wird in dieselbe schwere Sündenkategorie gerechnet.
Narada (teaching in a dharma-discourse context; dialogue tradition with the Sanatkumara brothers implied for Book 1.1)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
FAQs
It equates hypocrisy, habitual improper gift-taking, and delight in violence with the gravest moral collapse, warning that outward religiosity without inner purity destroys spiritual merit like a major sin.
Bhakti requires sincerity (ananya-bhāva) and purity of conduct; hypocritical show, greed-driven religiosity, and harm to beings contradict the heart of devotion and obstruct remembrance of the Divine.
It reinforces dharma-śāstric discipline around ācāra and pratigraha—when and from whom gifts may be accepted—along with the practical ethic of ahiṃsā as a daily rule of conduct.