Shloka 40

नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्

Devanagari script

कृते पापे ऽनुतापो वै यस्य पुंसः प्रजायते प्रायश्चित्तं तु तस्यैकं हरिसंस्मरणं परम्

Transliteration

kṛte pāpe 'nutāpo vai yasya puṃsaḥ prajāyate prāyaścittaṃ tu tasyaikaṃ harisaṃsmaraṇaṃ param

Translation

When a person, having committed a sin, truly feels remorse, then for him there is one supreme expiation: the highest remembrance of Hari.

Word by Word

• कृते: when committed
• कृते: Adhikarana (Temporal context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन, क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle used locatively) — “when (it is) done/committed”

• पापे: in (a) sin
• पापे: Adhikarana (Location/Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — Locative singular

• अनुतापः: remorse, repentance
• अनुतापः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुताप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• वै: indeed
• वै: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निश्चयार्थक निपात

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive singular (relative)

• पुंसः: of a man/person
• पुंसः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुम्स्/पुंस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• प्रजायते: arises
• प्रजायते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — “arises/is born”

• प्रायश्चित्तम्: expiation
• प्रायश्चित्तम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रायश्चित्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• तु: but
• तु: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — विरोध/विशेष (particle: “but, however”)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• एकम्: one (single)
• एकम्: Vidhaya-visheshana (Predicate adjective/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — Nom./Acc. singular; विधेय-विशेषण

• हरिसंस्मरणम्: remembrance of Hari
• हरिसंस्मरणम्: Vidhaya (Predicate nominal/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि + संस्मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Vidhaya-visheshana (Predicate adjective/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — Nom./Acc. singular; विधेय-विशेषण

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: What is the single supreme expiation when genuine remorse arises after sin?

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: compassionate

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When authentic contrition arises after wrongdoing, the supreme expiation is remembrance of Hari, which transforms the heart and dissolves sin.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Pair remorse with immediate God-remembrance (nāma/japa) and concrete restitution; avoid despair by turning contrition into sustained devotion.

Vishishtadvaita: Repentance culminates in prapatti-like turning toward the Lord; grace operates through sincere inner transformation rather than mere external performance.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Hari

FAQs

What is the significance of Harisaṁsmaraṇa (remembrance of Hari) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents remembrance of Hari as the highest expiation—an inner, devotional purification that crowns or surpasses external penances when genuine remorse is present.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the role of repentance (anutāpa) in atonement?

Parāśara links true atonement to the arising of remorse after wrongdoing; when that inner turning occurs, focused remembrance of Vishnu becomes the single, supreme corrective.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Vishnu (Hari) is treated as the supreme purifying refuge—memory of Him is not merely mental recollection but a devotional orientation toward the Highest Reality that cleanses moral fault.