Shloka 9
नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्
सुरापो ब्रह्महा हर्ता सुवर्णस्य च सूकरे प्रयाति नरके यश् च तैः संसर्गम् उपैति वै
surāpo brahmahā hartā suvarṇasya ca sūkare prayāti narake yaś ca taiḥ saṃsargam upaiti vai
The drinker of intoxicants, the slayer of a brāhmaṇa, and the thief of gold go to hell; and so too does one who knowingly keeps intimate company with such offenders.
Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How specific transgressions—including association (saṃsarga) with offenders—produce naraka results.
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: revealing
Concept: Surā-pāna, brahma-hatyā, and suvarṇa-haraṇa lead to naraka, and deliberate intimate association with such offenders shares in their demerit.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Avoid enabling networks of harm (substance abuse, exploitation, theft); cultivate sat-saṅga and ethical community standards.
Vishishtadvaita: Moral agency is relational within the Lord’s real world: saṅga (company) shapes karma, affirming an embodied, socially embedded dharma.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse teaches that moral and spiritual consequences extend beyond direct action: intimate companionship with grave offenders is itself treated as a dharmic fault leading to suffering.
Parāśara lists archetypal mahāpātakas and adds that aligning oneself with such acts through deliberate association implicates a person in the same downward karmic trajectory.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the teaching presumes Vishnu as the upholder of ṛta/dharma: ethical law functions as His cosmic governance, steering beings toward upliftment or decline.