Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 48
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas and the Sin-destroying Power of Viṣṇu-smaraṇa
आसायं प्रातरारभ्य जप्त्वा वै वेदमातरम् । हेम कृष्णलमात्रं तु हृत्वा सांतपनं चरेत् ॥ ४८ ॥
āsāyaṃ prātarārabhya japtvā vai vedamātaram | hema kṛṣṇalamātraṃ tu hṛtvā sāṃtapanaṃ caret || 48 ||
Beginning in the evening and continuing from the next morning, having duly recited in japa the “Mother of the Vedas,” the Gāyatrī, if one has stolen gold to the measure of a single kṛṣṇala, one should undertake the expiatory observance called Sāṃtapana.
Narada (in instruction mode, within the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue framework)
Vrata: Sāṃtapana
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It links purification to both mantra (Gāyatrī as ‘Veda-mātā’) and disciplined expiation (Sāṃtapana), showing that inner recitation and outer observance together restore dharmic purity.
While framed as prāyaścitta, the verse emphasizes reverent japa of the Veda’s sacred mother-mantra; such steady remembrance is a devotional discipline that supports purity and steadiness of mind.
Ritual discipline is foregrounded: timing of observance (evening-to-morning), mantra-japa procedure, and precise traditional measure (kṛṣṇala) for a prescribed offering/fee—reflecting technical ritual exactness associated with Kalpa (auxiliary of Veda).