Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 33
Dharmopadeśa-Śānti: Rules of Impurity, Expiations, and Ancestor Rites
कृच्छ्रार्द्धमाचरेज्ज्ञानादैन्दवद्वयम् । मातरं गुरुपत्नीं च दुहितृभगिनीस्नुषाः ॥ ३३ ॥
kṛcchrārddhamācarejjñānādaindavadvayam | mātaraṃ gurupatnīṃ ca duhitṛbhaginīsnuṣāḥ || 33 ||
Si, en pleine connaissance, l’on a offensé sa mère, l’épouse du maître, sa fille, sa sœur ou sa belle-fille, qu’on accomplisse la pénitence dite «demi-Kṛcchra», avec le jeûne Aindava de deux jours.
Sanatkumara (in dialogue with Narada, teaching dharma and prāyaścitta)
Vrata: Kṛcchrārdha (half-Kṛcchra) with Aindava-dvaya (two-day Aindava fast)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It underscores that intentional harm or misconduct toward highly protected relations (mother, guru’s wife, and close female kin) is a grave adharma requiring formal prāyaścitta; the aim is moral purification and restoration of dharmic order.
While not directly teaching bhakti practices, it supports bhakti by insisting on ethical purity and restraint; devotion to the Divine is traditionally grounded in right conduct and repentance for intentional wrongdoing.
It reflects dharma-śāstra style procedural knowledge—classification of offenses and prescribed prāyaścitta (Kṛcchra and Aindava observances)—rather than a specific Vedāṅga like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa.