Verse Text
atha mālya-saurabhyaṁ, yathā tantre—
praviṣṭe nāsikā-randhre harer nirmālya-saurabhe |
sadyo vilayam āyāti pāpa-paṣjara-bandhanam ||163||
Translation
Smelling the garlands offered to the Lord (verse 86), from a tantra: When the fragrance of the garlands of the Lord enters the nostrils, immediately the bondage created by piles of sin is destroyed.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The phrase pāpa-paṣjara-bandhanam means “bondage created by piles of sinful acts.”
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
It is stated in the Tantra-śāstra, “If the smell of the garland which was offered to the Deity in the temple enters into a person’s nostrils, immediately his bondage to sinful activities becomes cleared. And even if one has no sinful activities, still, by smelling such remnants of flowers, one can advance from Māyāvādī [impersonalist] to devotee.” There are several instances of this, a prime one being the advancement of the four Kumāras. They were impersonalist Māyāvādīs, but after smelling the remnants of flowers and incense in the temple, they turned to become devotees. From the above verse it appears that the Māyāvādīs, or impersonalists, are more or less contaminated. They are not pure.
It is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, “One who has not washed off all reactions of sinful activities cannot be a pure devotee. A pure devotee has no more doubts about the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead, and thus he engages himself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service.”