Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 44
Dharma-ākhyāna (Discourse on Dharma): Worthy Charity, Fruitless Gifts, and the Merit of Building Ponds
धर्मा बहुविधाः प्रोक्ताः पुण्यलोकप्रदायकाः । तथैव यातनाः प्रोक्ता असंख्या घोरदर्शताः ॥ ४५ ॥
dharmā bahuvidhāḥ proktāḥ puṇyalokapradāyakāḥ | tathaiva yātanāḥ proktā asaṃkhyā ghoradarśatāḥ || 45 ||
ธรรมะมีหลากหลายประการได้ถูกสอนไว้ อันประทานโลกอันเป็นบุญ; และยาตนาหรือทัณฑ์ทรมานก็นับไม่ถ้วน ถูกพรรณนาไว้ว่าน่าสะพรึงกลัวยิ่งนักเมื่อได้เห็น।
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in dialogue)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It frames dharma as a structured path that yields higher realms through merit, while also warning that adharma leads to innumerable, terrifying sufferings—urging moral vigilance and responsibility for karma.
Indirectly, it sets the ethical foundation for bhakti: devotion is strengthened by dharmic living and detachment from sin, because the text emphasizes real consequences for actions and the need to choose a purifying way of life.
No specific Vedanga is taught in this verse; it functions as a dharma-śāstra style summary of karma-phala—linking prescribed conduct (dharma) with outcomes (puṇya-loka vs. yātanā).