Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 59
Dhvaja-Dhāraṇa Mahātmyam: Sumati–Satyamatī, Humility, and Deliverance by Hari’s Messengers
विवेकस्त्रिषु लोकेषु संपदामादिकारणम् । अपापे पापधीर्यस्तु तं विद्यात्पुरुषाधमम् ॥ ५९ ॥
vivekastriṣu lokeṣu saṃpadāmādikāraṇam | apāpe pāpadhīryastu taṃ vidyātpuruṣādhamam || 59 ||
Discrimination (viveka) is, in the three worlds, the first and foremost cause of all true prosperity. But the one who suspects sin where there is no sin—him one should know as the lowest of men.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Upadesha dialogue)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
It declares viveka (clear discernment) as the root of genuine well-being and spiritual progress, and warns that mislabeling the blameless as sinful is a grave moral fall that destroys dharmic clarity.
Bhakti requires pure intention and right judgment—viveka helps a devotee avoid slander, suspicion, and fault-finding, thereby protecting devotion through humility, truthfulness, and respectful conduct toward others.
The verse emphasizes ethical discernment rather than a specific Vedanga technique; practically, it aligns with dharma-guided reasoning used in Smriti/Nyaya-like judgment—distinguishing real fault from imagined fault before speech or action.