SB 6.1.9 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीराजोवाच द‍ृष्टश्रुताभ्यां यत्पापं जानन्नप्यात्मनोऽहितम् । करोति भूयो विवश: प्रायश्चित्तमथो कथम् ॥ ९ ॥

Verse text

śrī-rājovāca dṛṣṭa-śrutābhyāṁ yat pāpaṁ jānann apy ātmano ’hitam karoti bhūyo vivaśaḥ prāyaścittam atho katham

Synonyms

śrī — rājā uvāca — Parīkṣit Mahārāja replied ; dṛṣṭa — by seeing ; śrutābhyām — also by hearing (from the scriptures or lawbooks) ; yat — since ; pāpam — sinful, criminal action ; jānan — knowing ; api — although ; ātmanaḥ — of his self ; ahitam — injurious ; karoti — he acts ; bhūyaḥ — again and again ; vivaśaḥ — unable to control himself ; prāyaścittam — atonement ; atho — therefore ; katham — what is the value of .

Translation

Mahārāja Parīkṣit said: One may know that sinful activity is injurious for him because he actually sees that a criminal is punished by the government and rebuked by people in general and because he hears from scriptures and learned scholars that one is thrown into hellish conditions in the next life for committing sinful acts. Nevertheless, in spite of such knowledge, one is forced to commit sins again and again, even after performing acts of atonement. Therefore, what is the value of such atonement?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The King said: Though the jīva knows that sinful acts are detrimental by seeing and hearing, he helplessly commits sin again. What is the use of atonement? Parīkṣit criticizes atonement, saying it is unacceptable, in two verses. One sees a king punishing a criminal and hears about the punishment in hell and understands that sin is not beneficial. It is seen that a person commits that same sin again even after doing the atonement. How does atonement destroy sin? If the sin has been destroyed he will not commit sin again.

Purport

In some religious sects a sinful man goes to a priest to confess his sinful acts and pay a fine, but then he again commits the same sins and returns to confess them again. This is the practice of a professional sinner. Parīkṣit Mahārāja’s observations indicate that even five thousand years ago it was the practice of criminals to atone for their crimes but then commit the same crimes again, as if forced to do so. Therefore, owing to his practical experience, Parīkṣit Mahārāja saw that the process of repeatedly sinning and atoning is pointless. Regardless of how many times he is punished, one who is attached to sense enjoyment will commit sinful acts again and again until he is trained to refrain from enjoying his senses. The word vivaśa is used herein, indicating that even one who does not want to commit sinful acts will be forced to do so by habit. Parīkṣit Mahārāja therefore considered the process of atonement to have little value for saving one from sinful acts. In the following verse he further explains his rejection of this process.