Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 141
Pāpa-bheda, Naraka-yātanā, Mahāpātaka-vicāra, Atonement Limits, Daśa-vidhā Bhakti, and Gaṅgā as Final Remedy
योऽर्चयेत्कैतवधिया स्वैरिणी स्वपतिं यथा । नारायणं जगन्नाथं तामसी मध्यमा तु सा ॥ १४१ ॥
yo'rcayetkaitavadhiyā svairiṇī svapatiṃ yathā | nārāyaṇaṃ jagannāthaṃ tāmasī madhyamā tu sā || 141 ||
جو نرائن جگن ناتھ کی پوجا فریب کی نیت سے کرے، جیسے بدچلن عورت اپنے شوہر کے پاس جائے، وہ بھکتی تامسی اور درمیانی درجے کی کہی گئی ہے۔
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in a gradation-of-bhakti context)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It teaches that the inner motive (bhāva) behind worship is decisive: devotion mixed with deceit and self-serving intent is considered tāmasī and spiritually inferior.
Bhakti is not merely an external act of arcana (ritual worship); it must be aligned with sincerity and purity. Deceptive worship—done for manipulation, display, or selfish gain—falls into a lower, tamasic grade.
A practical takeaway is ritual discernment in arcana: beyond correct procedure, one must examine intention (saṅkalpa/bhāva). This aligns with dharma-focused ritual ethics rather than a technical Vedanga like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa.