Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 4
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas and the Sin-destroying Power of Viṣṇu-smaraṇa
प्रायश्चित्तानि चीर्णानि नारायणपराङ्मुखैः । न निष्पुनंति विप्रेंद्र सुराभांडमिवापगाः ॥ ४ ॥
prāyaścittāni cīrṇāni nārāyaṇaparāṅmukhaiḥ | na niṣpunaṃti vipreṃdra surābhāṃḍamivāpagāḥ || 4 ||
Oh, el mejor de los brāhmaṇas: las expiaciones realizadas por quienes se han apartado de Nārāyaṇa no los purifican, así como un río no puede limpiar una vasija llena de licor.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It teaches that ritual expiation alone is insufficient; purification becomes effective only when one is oriented toward Nārāyaṇa, because inner devotion is the decisive purifier.
By contrasting penance with Godwardness, it implies that bhakti to Nārāyaṇa is the essential condition that makes all dharmic acts—including prāyaścitta—truly cleansing and transformative.
Ritual knowledge (Kalpa) is implied: expiatory rites have procedural validity, but the verse stresses their intended outcome (śuddhi/purification) depends on the practitioner’s devotional alignment, not mere performance.