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 ||
ហើយបិតារបស់ខ្ញុំនេះមានពណ៌ក្រហម—មានចរិតសាហាវ ជាអ្នកសម្លាប់ព្រះព្រាហ្មណ៍ និងប្រព្រឹត្តអំពើបាប។ ឥឡូវសូមស្តាប់បន្តទៀត៖ ជីតាបុរាណរបស់ខ្ញុំក៏ឈ្មោះ «ក្រឹෂ್ಣ» ដែរ—ទាំងដោយនាម ដោយកម្ម និងដោយពណ៌សម្បុរផង។
Narrator (a lineage-speaker within the Tirtha/Mahatmya narrative of Uttara-Bhaga; framed in the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue tradition)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
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.