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 ||
अयं च मे जनको रक्तवर्णो नृशंसकृत् ब्रह्महा पापकारी। अतः परं शृणु—प्रपितामहश्च कृष्णो नाम्ना कर्मणा वर्णतश्च।
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
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.