Mahāpātaka
Mahāpātaka · mahā-pātaka, “a great pāpa”
Pāpa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Pāpa.
Grammar: neuter noun; a compound of mahā (great) and pātaka (what makes one fall): “a great pāpa”.
Meaning: the gravest of pāpas.
In the scriptures: Śrī Kṛshṇa teaches that brahmahatyā, surāpāna (drinking liquor), suvarṇa-steya (stealing gold) and guru-patnī-gamana (going to the guru’s wife) are the four mahāpātakas. A man who stays in contact with those who do these pāpas is counted the fifth mahāpātakī, and all these go to naraka (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 5–6).
By the Kāñcanapurī Vrata, those who commit mahāpātakas such as brahmahatyā are without doubt freed from pāpa (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 147). By the tila-dhenu dāna the giver is freed from mahāpātakas such as brahmahatyā and from all upapātakas and whatever pātakas, mahāpātakas and upapātakas were done in childhood, youth or old age are removed (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 152). The lavaṇa-dhenu dāna frees those who have committed brahmahatyā and going to the guru’s wife (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 155).
Related terms: Pāpa · Upapātaka · Brahmahatyā · Naraka
See also
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 5–6, 147, 152, 155