Chapter summary
द्वात्रिंशदपराधा: Dvātriṃśad Aparādhā:
The Thirty-Two Offenses
**The Blessed Lord said:**
The Blessed Lord addressed the Lotus-born Brahmā, saying, "O Brahmā, I shall now enumerate the thirty-two offenses. Worship performed without committing these transgressions is what I truly accept, of this there is no doubt." (v.1)
"It is utterly unbearable to Me when one enters My temple or touches My idol without first cleansing their teeth and bathing. Likewise, a foolish person who touches My idol after having touched a menstruating woman, or those of low birth, or fallen individuals, commits an offense against Me. To touch My sacred form after having evacuated the bowels or bladder, or after engaging in sexual intercourse, also constitutes an offense. Indeed, even a devotee who touches their own teeth, hair, anus, or genitals and then touches Me, undoubtedly becomes an offender." (v.2-5)
"To smell a flower, *tulasi* [holy basil] leaf, sandalwood paste, or incense, and then offer the remainder to Me, is an offense. O Four-faced one [Brahmā], it is a sin to adorn oneself with ornaments, clothes, or garlands and then offer them to Me. Similarly, one becomes a sinner by first partaking of ghee, honey, yogurt, milk, sugar, or fruits, and then presenting the remnants as *naivedya* [food offering] to Me." (v.6-8)
"During the period of ritual impurity (*āśauca*) following a birth or death within one's own *gotra* [patrilineal clan], to enter My temple is a sin. A person who enters My abode wearing black or red garments, or unrinsed clothes, or with unbound hair, commits a sin against Me. One who enters My temple anointed with oil, or immediately after shaving, and without having bathed, surely becomes an offender." (v.9-11)
"To enter My presence wrapped in a blanket, or wearing sandals, or unmindfully, constitutes an offense. A foolish person who stretches out their feet before Me, fails to rise upon My arrival, or engages in idle chatter, commits an offense against Me." (v.12-13)
"One who engages in gambling, smoking, or drinking alcohol, or partakes of forbidden food, is undoubtedly a great sinner. Releasing bodily gas, rinsing the mouth, or chewing betel leaf within My temple makes one an offender. In My presence, one should never engage in mutual quarrels, tell jesting tales, or speak in a loud voice." (v.14-16)
"Decorating My idol, performing the sacred bath (*abhisheka*), or making the food offering (*naivedya*) without a curtain is certainly not approved by Me. My unadorned form should never be displayed to people; rather, one should protect Me with the same care and privacy with which one guards one's own wife." (v.17-18)
"One who is devoid of love should not undertake various kinds of decoration for Me. Nor should My sacred form ever be bound with wood or ropes. To worship Me with fragrance-less flowers, or those previously offered, or with unbroken rice grains, or with items associated with other deities, constitutes an offense. One should never offer *naivedya* intended for another deity; to offer such, or clothes, or ornaments, would make one an offender." (v.19-21)
"The worship or praise of lesser deities should not be performed in My presence; a sinner who does so will surely reap the fruit of that sin. Discharging feces and urine near My temple leads to hemorrhoids and the disease of an enlarged abdomen. The sinner who negligently conducts business within My temple will attain poverty, birth after birth." (v.22-24)
"One who usurps My field or My flower garden will attain the *Kumbhīpāka* hell [a particularly dreadful hell] or be subjected to hot oil. A great sinner who steals My clothes, ornaments, wealth, or vessels will contract leprosy. A man who constantly steals flowers from My flower garden will suffer from vitiligo and become bereft of relatives." (v.25-27)
"He who slanders *sādhus* [holy persons], *sadgurus* [true spiritual preceptors], or Me, will attain muteness; the same fate awaits one who speaks untruth in testimony. One who gazes upon the beauty of other women in My presence will become blind, as will a woman who looks at another man. A foolish soul who, abandoning My great temple situated at the very door of his house, goes elsewhere, that sinner will become lame." (v.28-30)
"A sinner who steals My well-consecrated idol from the temple will be born without hands and feet, taking birth as a mere lump of flesh. A man who, out of ignorance, engages in sexual intercourse within My temple, will surely become impotent; he is undoubtedly a great sinner. Furthermore, by performing wedding ceremonies or similar rites, or *śrāddha* rites [ancestral rituals], within My temple and in My presence, one will not obtain the desired fruit." (v.31-33)
"Whatever sorrows are observed in the world, O Lotus-born, they are all, without doubt, the fruits of sins. Yet, I Myself am an ocean of mercy, O Lotus-born; how then could I inflict unbearable sorrows upon the people of this world?" (v.34-35)
**The Revered Sadguru said:**
Having heard these pronouncements from the Lord, the Lotus-born Brahmā, greatly agitated by worry and fear, addressed Keśava [Lord Vishnu] with folded hands. (v.36)
**Brahma said:**
Brahmā pleaded, "Please forgive the offenses of foolish people, which they commit again and again, even by their very nature and due to Your *māyā* [divine illusion]. Indeed, O Lord, You have assumed the form of an idol out of compassion, precisely for the protection of sinners. Therefore, please forgive their transgressions! Sinners, by their very nature, will inevitably commit offenses. Disregarding this, O Ocean of Compassion, simply extend Your mercy. For if You do not, O Gadādhara [wielder of the mace], O Ocean of Compassion, O Protector of those who seek refuge, these mortals have no other recourse but You." (v.37-40)
**The Revered Sadguru said:**
Thus concludes the eleventh chapter, entitled "The Thirty-Two Offenses," in the Fourth Part of the *Divya Deśa Vaibhavam* [The Glory of the Divine Abodes, a work about the 108 sacred Vishnu temples], a work composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
