Text 26]
Nārada Muni Cursed by Prajāpati Dakṣa
295
TEXT 26
तदुपस्पर्शनादेव विनिर्भूतमत्प्रायः । जपन्तो ब्रह्म परमं तेपुस्तत्र महत् तपः ॥२६॥
tad-upasparśanād eva vinirdhūta-malāśayāḥ japanto brahma paramaṁ tepus tatra mahat tapaḥ
tat —of that holy place;  upasparśanāt —by bathing regularly in the water;  eva —indeed;  vinirdhūta —completely purified;  mala-āśayāḥ —of all the dirt within the heart;  japantaḥ —chanting or murmuring;  brahma —mantras beginning with  oṁ  (such as  oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ );  paramaṁ —the ultimate goal;  tepuḥ —performed;  tatra —there;  mahat —great;  tapaḥ —penances.
TRANSLATION
At Nārāyaṇa-saras, the second group of sons performed penances in the same way as the first. They bathed in the holy water, and by its touch all the dirty material desires in their hearts were cleansed away. They murmured mantras beginning with  oṁkāra  and underwent a severe course of austerities.
PURPORT
Every Vedic  mantra  is called  brahma  because each  mantra  is preceded by the  brahmākṣara ,  aum  or  oṁkāra . For example,  oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya . Lord Kṛṣṇa says in  Bhagavad-gītā  (7.8),  praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu : “In all the Vedic  mantras , I am represented by  praṇava , or  oṁkāra .” Thus chanting of the Vedic  mantras  beginning with  oṁkāra  is directly chanting of Kṛṣṇa’s name. There is no difference. Whether one chants  oṁkāra  or addresses the Lord as Kṛṣṇa, the meaning is the same, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended that in this age one chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mantra  ( harer nāma eva kevalam ). Although there is no difference between Hare Kṛṣṇa and the Vedic  mantras  beginning with  oṁkāra , Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the leader of the