Text 7]
Ajāmila Delivered by the Viṣṇudūtas
97
chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa. Even though he did not chant purely, he chanted without offense, and therefore he is now pure and eligible for liberation.
PURPORT
The Yamadūtas had considered only the external situation of Ajāmila. Since he was extremely sinful throughout his life, they thought he should be taken to Yamarāja and did not know that he had become free from the reactions of all his sins. The Viṣṇudūtas therefore instructed that because he had chanted the four syllables of the name Nārāyaṇa at the time of his death, he was freed from all sinful reactions. In this regard Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura quotes the following verses from the  smṛti-śāstra :
nāmno hi yāvatī śaktiḥ pāpa-nirharaṇe hareḥ tāvat kartuṁ na śaknoti pātakaṁ pātakī naraḥ
“Simply by chanting one holy name of Hari, a sinful man can counteract the reactions to more sins than he is able to commit.” ( Bṛhad-viṣṇu Purāṇa )
avaśenāpi yan-nāmni kīrtite sarva-pātakaiḥ pumān vimucyate sadyaḥ siṁha-trastair mṛgair iva
“If one chants the holy name of the Lord, even in a helpless condition or without desiring to do so, all the reactions of his sinful life depart, just as when a lion roars, all the small animals flee in fear.” ( Garuḍa Purāṇa )
sakṛd uccāritaṁ yena harir ity akṣara-dvayam baddha-parikaras tena mokṣāya gamanaṁ prati