Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 22
गङ्गामाहात्म्य — The Greatness of the Gaṅgā
धर्महीनो यथा जन्तुः कर्महीनो यथा गृही । पशुहीनो यथा वैश्यस्तथा पित्रा विनार्भकः ॥ २२ ॥
dharmahīno yathā jantuḥ karmahīno yathā gṛhī | paśuhīno yathā vaiśyastathā pitrā vinārbhakaḥ || 22 ||
Wie ein Wesen ohne Dharma wertlos ist, wie ein Haushälter ohne vorgeschriebene Pflichten hohl bleibt und wie ein Vaiśya ohne Vieh seines Lebensunterhalts beraubt ist—so ist auch ein Kind ohne Vater verlassen.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It stresses that dharma and ordained duty (karma) are not optional: without them, life becomes spiritually barren; similarly, the father is presented as a crucial support for a child’s stability, education, and dharmic formation.
By establishing dharma and right conduct as the ground on which higher practices stand; disciplined household duty and ethical order support steadiness of mind, which in the Narada Purana framework becomes conducive to sustained Vishnu-bhakti.
The verse points to karma (prescribed rites and duties) central to Kalpa (ritual procedure) and Dharmaśāstra-style conduct; it implies that a gṛhastha must follow regulated observances rather than living without dharmic structure.