Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 42
गङ्गामाहात्म्य — The Greatness of the Gaṅgā
उपेक्षेत समर्थः सन्धर्मस्य परिपन्थिनः । स एव सर्वनाशाय हेतुभूतो न संशयः ॥ ४२ ॥
upekṣeta samarthaḥ sandharmasya paripanthinaḥ | sa eva sarvanāśāya hetubhūto na saṃśayaḥ || 42 ||
Người có năng lực mà làm ngơ kẻ ngăn trở Chánh pháp, thì chính người ấy trở thành nguyên nhân của sự diệt vong toàn diện—không còn nghi ngờ gì.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
It teaches that spiritual life is not sustained by personal virtue alone; when one has the capacity to restrain forces that oppose dharma yet chooses indifference, that negligence itself becomes a karmic cause of widespread decline.
Bhakti in the Puranic sense includes protecting and upholding dharma as service to Bhagavan; this verse warns that passive tolerance of anti-dharmic conduct contradicts sincere devotional responsibility.
No specific Vedanga (like Vyakarana, Jyotisha, or Kalpa) is taught here; the takeaway is applied dharma-niti—knowing when capable action is required and that omission can produce grave consequences.