Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 79
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas and the Sin-destroying Power of Viṣṇu-smaraṇa
भक्ष्यभोज्यापहारेषु पंचगव्यविशोधनम् । शुष्ककाष्टतृणानां च द्रुमाणां च गुडस्य च ॥ ७९ ॥
bhakṣyabhojyāpahāreṣu paṃcagavyaviśodhanam | śuṣkakāṣṭatṛṇānāṃ ca drumāṇāṃ ca guḍasya ca || 79 ||
When edible food or cooked fare has been taken away or defiled, purification is to be done with pañcagavya. The same rule of purification applies to dry wood and grass, to trees, and also to jaggery (guḍa).
Sanatkumara (in instruction to Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: none
FAQs
It frames purity (śauca) as a dharmic discipline: when food or common materials are affected by improper handling or loss, one restores ritual fitness through prescribed purification—here, pañcagavya—so that offerings and daily conduct remain aligned with sacred order.
Bhakti is supported by right practice: keeping offerings and consumables ritually pure safeguards worship (pūjā, naivedya) and reinforces reverence toward Vishnu-centered dharma through careful, rule-based conduct.
It reflects kalpa/prayoga-style ritual procedure (often grouped with Vedāṅga-Kalpa in practice): specifying when and how a substance is ritually cleansed, especially via pañcagavya, for continued eligibility in rites and household observances.