Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 67
Dhvaja-Dhāraṇa Mahātmyam: Sumati–Satyamatī, Humility, and Deliverance by Hari’s Messengers
पूर्वसंचितपापानामदृष्ट्वा निष्कृतिं वृथा । किमर्थं पापकर्माणि करिष्येऽथ पुनः पुनः ॥ ६७ ॥
pūrvasaṃcitapāpānāmadṛṣṭvā niṣkṛtiṃ vṛthā | kimarthaṃ pāpakarmāṇi kariṣye'tha punaḥ punaḥ || 67 ||
Nếu ta không thấy một sự sám hối–tẩy tội chân thật cho những tội lỗi đã tích tụ từ quá khứ, thì mọi điều đều vô ích. Vậy cớ sao ta còn làm nghiệp ác hết lần này đến lần khác?
Narada (inquiry within the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue context)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
The verse frames a key dharmic insight: unless one recognizes an effective path of niṣkṛti (expiation and inner correction), life becomes “vṛthā” (futile). True repentance is meant to end repetition of sin, not merely to manage its consequences.
By rejecting “punaḥ punaḥ” (repeated wrongdoing), the verse supports bhakti as a transformative discipline—devotion must express itself as moral restraint and sincere turning away from pāpa, aligning the devotee with the Lord’s dharma.
It highlights ritual-ethical discernment central to Kalpa (rules of conduct and expiations): prayāścitta is meaningful only when it produces behavioral change—cessation of pāpa-karman—rather than being treated as a loophole.