14 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 6, Ch. 1

counteract sinful activities. In Christianity also there is a process of con-
fession and atonement. Therefore atonement is required, and atonement
must be undergone according to the gravity of one’s sinful acts.

TEXT 9
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matt wet fara: mare ary 1 8 1

Sri-rdjovdca
drsta-srutabhyam yat papam
Janann apy atmano *hitam

karoti bhityo vivasah
prayascittam atho katham

Sri-rdja@_ uvadca—Pariksit Maharaja replied; drsta—by seeing; Sru-
tabhyam—also by hearing (from the scriptures or lawbooks); yat—
since; pdpam—sinful, criminal action; ja@nan—knowing; api—al-
though; dtmanah—of his self; ahitam—injurious; karoti—he acts;
bhiiyah—again and again; vivasah—unable to control himself;
prayascittam—atonement; atho—therefore; katham—what is the value

of.
TRANSLATION

Maharaja Pariksit said: One may know that sinful activity is in-
jurious for him because he actually sees that a criminal is punished
by the government and rebuked by people in general and because
he hears from scriptures and learned scholars that one is thrown
into hellish conditions in the next life for committing sinful acts.
Nevertheless, in spite of such knowledge, one is forced to commit
sins again and again, even after performing acts of atonement.
Therefore, what is the value of such atonement?

PURPORT

In some religious sects a sinful man goes to a priest to confess his sin-
ful acts and pay a fine, but then he again commits the same sins and
