Shloka 32
The Greatness of Gayā
Gayā-Māhātmya
अयं च मे जनको रक्तवर्णो नृशंसकृद्ब्रह्महा पापकारी । अतः परं श्रृणु प्रपितामहश्च कृष्णो नाम्ना कर्मणा वर्णतश्च ॥ ३२ ॥
ayaṃ ca me janako raktavarṇo nṛśaṃsakṛdbrahmahā pāpakārī | ataḥ paraṃ śrṛṇu prapitāmahaśca kṛṣṇo nāmnā karmaṇā varṇataśca || 32 ||
Et ce père à moi était de teint rouge—cruel de conduite, meurtrier d’un brāhmaṇa et auteur d’actes pécheurs. Écoute maintenant la suite : mon arrière-grand-père aussi était « Kṛṣṇa »—par le nom, par les actes et par la couleur du corps.
Narrator (a lineage-speaker within the Tirtha/Mahatmya narrative of Uttara-Bhaga; framed in the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue tradition)
Vrata: none
Rasa: {"primary_rasa":"karuna","secondary_rasa":"bibhatsa","emotional_journey":"A sorrowful unveiling of inherited sin: cruelty and brahmahatyā stain the lineage, deepening the moral gravity."}
FAQs
The verse highlights how moral character (karma) and grave sins—especially brahmahatyā (killing a brāhmaṇa)—are explicitly condemned, and it frames lineage-description as a warning that actions define one’s spiritual standing.
Indirectly, it sets the ethical foundation for bhakti: devotion is not merely verbal but must be supported by purified conduct; cruelty and major sins obstruct spiritual progress and the capacity for sincere worship.
Vyākaraṇa-style semantic precision is implied in the triple usage—“by name, by deeds, and by complexion”—showing how a term (kṛṣṇa) can be applied through nāma (designation), karma (action), and varṇa (descriptor), a useful interpretive cue for Purāṇic reading.