SB 6.2.17 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तैस्तान्यघानि पूयन्ते तपोदानव्रतादिभि: । नाधर्मजं तद्‌धृदयं तदपीशाङ्‌घ्रिसेवया ॥ १७ ॥

Verse text

tais tāny aghāni pūyante tapo-dāna-vratādibhiḥ nādharmajaṁ tad-dhṛdayaṁ tad apīśāṅghri-sevayā

Synonyms

taiḥ — by those ; tāni — all those ; aghāni — sinful activities and their results ; pūyante — become vanquished ; tapaḥ — austerity ; dāna — charity ; vrata — ādibhiḥ — by vows and other such activities ; na — not ; adharma — jam — produced from irreligious actions ; tat — of that ; hṛdayam — the heart ; tat — that ; api — also ; īśa — aṅghri — of the lotus feet of the Lord ; sevayā — by service .

Translation

Although one may neutralize the reactions of sinful life through austerity, charity, vows and other such methods, these pious activities cannot uproot the material desires in one’s heart. However, if one serves the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, he is immediately freed from all such contaminations.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Sins are destroyed by austerity, charity and vows but the root of sin is not destroyed. However by bhakti to the Lord, even the root of sin, namely desire, is destroyed. By such atonements sins are destroyed (pūyante). The verbal root is puṁ, which means “to destroy.” However these atonements do not destroy the subtle root (hṛdayam) of the sins (adharmajam). By serving the feet of the Lord, by bhakti to the Lord, by one method such as chanting among the nine processes, the root of sin is destroyed, since chanting destroys even the desires for sin.

Purport

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.42) , bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra ca: devotional service is so powerful that one who performs devotional service is immediately freed from all sinful desires. All desires within this material world are sinful because material desire means sense gratification, which always involves action that is more or less sinful. Pure bhakti, however, is anyābhilāṣitā-śūnya; in other words, it is free from material desires, which result from karma and jṣāna. One who is situated in devotional service no longer has material desires, and therefore he is beyond sinful life. Material desires should be completely stopped. Otherwise, although one’s austerities, penances and charity may free one from sin for the time being, one’s desires will reappear because his heart is impure. Thus he will act sinfully and suffer.