Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 2
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas and the Sin-destroying Power of Viṣṇu-smaraṇa
प्रायश्चित्तविहीनैस्तु यत्कर्म क्रियते मुने । तत्सर्वं निष्फलं प्रोक्तं राक्षसैः परिसेवितम् ॥ २ ॥
prāyaścittavihīnaistu yatkarma kriyate mune | tatsarvaṃ niṣphalaṃ proktaṃ rākṣasaiḥ parisevitam || 2 ||
โอ้มุนี กรรมใดที่กระทำโดยปราศจากปรாயัศจิตตะ กรรมนั้นถูกกล่าวว่าไร้ผลสิ้นเชิง; และว่าเป็นสิ่งที่อิทธิพลรากษสะเข้าไปเกี่ยวข้อง.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It teaches that ritual action must be supported by purification and expiation; otherwise the act loses spiritual efficacy and cannot yield the intended dharmic fruit.
By insisting on inner and outer purity, it supports bhakti as a sincere offering; devotion is not merely performance—without cleansing faults through prāyaścitta, worship becomes spiritually hollow.
It points to ritual correctness and procedural discipline (Kalpa/Smārta-vidhi): expiations are part of the prescribed framework that safeguards the validity of yajña, vrata, and other karmas.