Shloka 7
Bhūmi-dāna, Satya-dharma, and the Non-cancellation of Sin by Charity
हरन्तमपि लोभेन निरुध्यैनं निवारयेत् / स याति नरके घोरे यस्तं न परिरक्षति
harantamapi lobhena nirudhyainaṃ nivārayet / sa yāti narake ghore yastaṃ na parirakṣati
Even if one is driven by greed to take what is not theirs, one should restrain that person and stop them. He who does not protect others from such wrongdoing goes to a dreadful hell.
Lord Vishnu (in dialogue to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: Dharma includes restraining wrongdoing; omission (not protecting others from greed-driven harm) incurs severe karmic consequence leading to hell.
Vedantic Theme: Ahimsā and loka-saṅgraha: sustaining social order is part of righteous living; negligence (pramāda) binds through karma.
Application: Intervene to prevent exploitation and theft within one’s capacity—through counsel, reporting, safeguarding the vulnerable, and creating deterrent systems; do not normalize wrongdoing by silence.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: otherworldly-region
Related Themes: Garuda Purana naraka descriptions for social harms and negligence; Garuda Purana dharma-nīti passages on protecting others
FAQs
This verse teaches that dharma includes actively restraining greed-driven theft; failing to protect others from harm becomes a karmic fault that leads to Naraka.
It links moral negligence to post-death consequences: one who allows theft to continue accrues demerit (pāpa) and is said to go to a dreadful hell (naraka), a key Preta Kanda theme about afterlife accountability.
Do not enable wrongdoing: discourage theft, report or stop harmful acts when safe, and protect others’ rights and property—ethical intervention is presented as part of one’s duty.