Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 34
The Greatness of Viṣṇu
Viṣṇor Māhātmya
ब्रह्मन्स्ववस्त्रप्रान्तेन कियद्देशः प्रमार्जितः । यावन्त्यः पांशुकणिकास्तत्र सम्मार्जिता द्विज ॥ ३४ ॥
brahmansvavastraprāntena kiyaddeśaḥ pramārjitaḥ | yāvantyaḥ pāṃśukaṇikāstatra sammārjitā dvija || 34 ||
O Brāhmaṇa, with the edge of your own garment, how much ground have you wiped clean? And how many tiny grains of dust have been swept up there, O twice-born one?
Sanatkumara (addressing Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
The verse uses a concrete act—wiping a spot with one’s cloth—to question the real extent of “cleansing,” pointing toward the teaching that mere external acts are limited and that true purification must address the inner mind and ignorance.
By highlighting the small, measurable result of outward cleaning, it indirectly encourages a shift to inward practice—steadiness of heart, remembrance, and surrender—where bhakti becomes a deeper purification than external form alone.
It illustrates a dharmic principle used in śāstric instruction: employing observable, measurable examples (a kind of nyāya-style reasoning) to teach discernment; it is more about pedagogy and viveka than a specific Vedāṅga ritual rule.