Shloka 13
Nārada’s Instructions: Śrāddha, True Dharma, Contentment, Yoga, and Devotion-Centered Renunciation
धर्मबाधो विधर्म: स्यात्परधर्मोऽन्यचोदित: । उपधर्मस्तु पाखण्डो दम्भो वा शब्दभिच्छल: ॥ १३ ॥
dharma-bādho vidharmaḥ syāt para-dharmo ’nya-coditaḥ upadharmas tu pākhaṇḍo dambho vā śabda-bhic chalaḥ
जो आचरण स्वधर्माच्या पालनात अडथळा आणते ते विधर्म. इतरांनी प्रवर्तित केलेले परधर्म. वेदविरोधी दंभाने घडवलेला नवा मतप्रवाह उपधर्म; आणि शब्दकौशल्याच्या कपटयुक्त व्याख्येला छलधर्म म्हणतात।
To create a new type of dharma has become fashionable in this age. So-called svāmīs and yogīs support that one may follow any type of religious system, according to one’s own choice, because all systems are ultimately the same. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, however, such fashionable ideas are called vidharma because they go against one’s own religious system. The real religious system is described by the Supreme Personality of Godhead: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. The real religious system is that of surrender to the lotus feet of the Lord. In the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in connection with Ajāmila’s deliverance, Yamarāja says, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: real religion is that which is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as real law is that which is given by the government. No one can manufacture actual law at home, nor can one manufacture actual religion. Elsewhere it is said, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje: the real religious system is that which leads one to become a devotee of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, anything opposed to this religious system of progressive Kṛṣṇa consciousness is called vidharma, para-dharma, upadharma or chala-dharma. Misinterpretation of Bhagavad-gītā is chala-dharma. When Kṛṣṇa directly says something and some rascal interprets it to mean something different, this is chala-dharma — a religious system of cheating — or śabda-bhit, a jugglery of words. One should be extremely careful to avoid these various types of cheating systems of religion.
FAQs
This verse defines vidharmā as anything that blocks or harms genuine dharma—practices that oppose real spiritual duty and degrade character and devotion.
While instructing on proper conduct, Prahlāda cautions that adopting duties unsuited to one’s nature (paradharma) or practicing showy, deceptive religiosity (upadharma) leads to hypocrisy and loss of true devotion.
Choose spiritual practices that genuinely purify and increase sincerity, avoid performative religion for status, and be wary of misleading “spiritual” wordplay that excuses selfish behavior.