PAPA (Sanskrit and Pali: papa, Prakrit: pava). The word represents one of the fundamental concepts of the Indian religious tradition. This concept pertains to what is considered religiously and morally evil—an act of body, mind, or speech that is opposed to what is regarded as religiously and morally good.
In the long religious history of India, the doctrine of papa has been developed and elaborated in great detail by various systems of faith and morality. No single definition can fully capture its connotations. For example, in both Brahmanism and Sikhism, it is customary to translate the word papa as “sin.” However, “evil” could equally well convey its sense. There are additional shades of meaning that have not been fully incorporated into the relevant contexts.
Any deed of commission or omission that is opposed to Dharma—God’s will, religious practice, or moral rules expressed in the sacred texts—may fall within the scope of papa. Thus, the term encompasses any act that is irreligious, immoral, bad, wicked, vicious, or depraved.
Some semantic cognates of papa include:
Pataka (sin), Apunya (unholy), Akushala (bad), Ashubha (inauspicious), Kilbisa, Kilbish (evil), Dosha (defilement), Dushkrita (crime), and Apavitra (impure).
The etymology of papa is obscure. However, the word pataka is derived from the root pat, which means “to fall”—physically or in the moral sense. Sin is seen as that which causes a fall from religious, moral, or spiritual stature, though the specifics of this “fall” may differ across traditions. Violation of or opposition to prescribed religious or moral laws not only causes a fall but also results in bondage.
Therefore, it is said that which binds or fetters, known as pāśayati, and causes downfall, referred to as pātayati, is called papa or sin. This definition serves as the best soteriological understanding of papa within the framework of India’s religious experience, where supreme value is placed on spiritual release, or moksha. The concept of papa is evidently connected with both the interpersonal relationships of humans in the present and their transcendental quest. Anything that leads one away from the Ultimate Reality can be considered papa.
Early humans perceived sin or evil as a form of pollution originating from contagion, which could be cleansed through physical means. The Rigveda and the Atharvaveda reflect traces of this external view of sin. However, a deeper awareness of moral evil and spiritual liberation began to take shape during the middle Vedic period, particularly through the insights of ascetic sages known as Munis and Sramanas. It is believed that the notion of papa as a morally evil concept originated among the pre-Vedic non-Aryan Indian communities.
The term papa, alongside cognates like agha, durita, and dushkrita, appears in the Rigveda. During that period, these terms were typically understood as guilt, evil, or sin. Additionally, the Rigveda mentions seven boundaries or limits, the violation of which could result in suffering. Although these boundaries are not explicitly detailed in the text, the Nirukta later identifies them as acts such as theft, violating the sanctity of the Guru’s bed, murder of a Brahman, causing an abortion, drinking alcohol, persistent wickedness, and bearing false witness.
It is in the ascetic philosophies of liberation, chiefly represented by Jainism and Buddhism, that we find, for the first time, a clear and detailed treatment of the doctrine of papa—its sources, nature, consequences, and means of eradication. To Parshvanatha (circa 750 BCE) is attributed the tenet of fourfold restraint (chaturyama), which opposes transgressing the precepts of truth, inoffensiveness, stealing, and attachment to earthly possessions. Violation of any of these precepts constituted papa. Mahavira later added incontinence as the fifth sin. The Sutrakritanga lays down the general principles for all seekers of liberation to keep their souls away from evil.
The Avasyakasutra provides a list of eighteen kinds of sin, including killing, lying, stealing, sexual misconduct, attachment to earthly possessions, anger, pride, illusion, greed, passion, and hatred. The standard Buddhist decalogue defines sinful pathways as killing living beings, stealing, sexual impurity, lying, slandering, speaking harshly, chattering frivolously, covetous thoughts, hostile thoughts, and false views. Two technical Pali terms, unique to Buddhism, are abhithana (deadly crime) and anantariyakamma (an action bearing immediate retribution). The Apastamba Dharmasutra divides sins into two categories: those causing loss of caste (pataniya) and those causing impurity (asuchikarani).
In the first category are acts such as theft of gold, drinking wine, and incest. The second category includes cohabitation between an Aryan woman and a Sudra, or eating the meat of a forbidden animal, such as a dog. The Dharmasutras also considered sea voyages to be sinful, leading to a loss of caste. In the Bhagavadgita, Arjuna argues that there is sin in fighting against friends and evil in destroying one’s family. In response, Krishna introduces the principle of the indestructibility of the self and contends that by failing to engage in righteous war, Arjuna will neglect his kartavya (duty) and incur sin. The notion of sin as a moral and religious evil predominates throughout Sikh texts.
Additionally, Sikhism developed the concept of papa from the perspective of theistic devotionalism. Forgetfulness of God is considered the greatest sin in Sikhism: “Those who turn away from the holy Master are renegades and evil; bound to their desires they ever suffer and avail not themselves of the chance (to get away from the path of sin)” (Guru Granth Sahib, p. 233). Sikhism does not place significance on Brahmanical or other rituals, and thus, their nonobservance does not constitute sin. Similarly, failure to follow the norms of varna or ashrama does not lead to sinfulness, as Sikhism rejects these social distinctions.
In essence, Sikhism emphasizes moral conduct and piety over ritual observance or adherence to caste duties. The Sikh Scripture, being a poetic composition, contains devotional hymns with moral teachings interspersed throughout. The concept of sin or evil is not confined to a single text or defined by specific terms; however, the term papa is frequently used due to its commonality and its comprehensive nature in encompassing various aspects of religious and moral evil. Many other terms synonymous or similar to papa appear in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Some of these terms are mail (impurity), avagun (vice), burai (evil), kilbikh (sin), agh (fault), apavit (unholy), duratu (misdeed), etc. Among the sources of sin mentioned are the four rivers of vice and the three maladies. These four rivers are hinsa, het, lobh, and kop (violence, attachment, avarice, and wrath). The three maladies are adhi, vidhi, and upadhi, which are maladies of mind and body.
The Sikh catalogue of vices contains, among others, the following: lust, anger, avarice, attachment to the world, pride, stealing, tyranny over others, injustice, slander, lying, cheating, self-praise, coveting others’ wealth, and jealousy. A single term which comprehends the sinful tendency or nature is manmukh. It is opposed to another well-known term gurmukh. Scholars have usually translated the former as “egocentric and self-willed” or “self-oriented,” and the latter as “Godward turning.” This is a technical religious term with theological implications and we must emphasize its value from the soteriological rather than the literal standpoint.
A manmukh is a sinner not only because he makes his own laws and follows them wilfully, but chiefly because his will is opposed to God’s will (hukam) and he disobeys divine commandments taught by the Guru. Delusion (moha), avarice (lobha), and hatred (dvesha) are the three roots of evil recognized in the Buddhist tradition. This view is shared by all the Indian religions. Vaisnavite Vedanta teaches that lust (kama), anger (krodha), and avarice (lobha) constitute the threefold gate to hell, to the ruin of the self.
Actions inspired by passion (lesyas) and instincts (sanjnas) of food, sexplay, fear, and possession are declared to be the mainsprings of sins in the Jaina tradition. The Dharmasastras state that a person incurs sin by neglecting the daily ceremonies of oblation to the fire (agnihotra), rites of purification, worship, and by doing what is prohibited, such as drinking wine, and by not restraining the senses. The Kaushitaki Brahmanopanisad teaches the doctrine that God makes that man perform good deeds whom He wishes to raise to higher worlds than these, and He makes that man do bad deeds whom He wishes to drag down. This doctrine is accepted in the Brahmasutra, and Sankara in his commentary on this sutra argues that the Lord does so in accordance with the past deeds of that person.
Sikhism traces the origin of everything in the world to the Creator. The origin of sin thus is a divine mystery. Poison (evil) and amrita (good) were created by God Himself; He produced these two fruits on the tree of the world (Guru Granth Sahib, 1172). Illusion (maya) and attachment were created by God; He Himself produced delusion (GG, 67). In another text, God’s law (hukam) and man’s actions are mentioned together: Man’s activity determines his destiny by operation of the law: “His law He operates, though the Divine pen writes according to the deeds of beings” (GG, 1241).
On the destructive nature of papa in man’s life, a number of texts from the Guru Granth Sahib may be cited. Some of these are given below: Babar, in his invasion of India (1521), is stated by Guru Nanak to have descended on India with the wedding party of sin, and to have “forcibly demanded the hand of the Indian womanhood” (GG, 722). This sin, of course, was rape and rapine by the aggressor. In relation to Babar’s invasion, also contemplating the degeneration of the Indian ruling classes—given to accumulating lucre, which the invader now snatched from them—he reflects: “Without sin is lucre not accumulated and with man it goes not at death” (GG, 417).
Reflecting on the nature of the inevitable retribution for sin, Guru Arjan affirms: “You are engaged in sin, none shall be your friend (that is, when retribution comes)” (GG, 546). Says Guru Nanak: “Sinners like stones are sunk; by the Master’s teaching will they be saved” (GG, 163). Guru Nanak compares man’s state to the bird’s (GG, 934): “Those that pick up the essence of truth, suffer not. Those that rush for picking up excessive grain, have their wings broken and their feet caught in snares. Their sins bring them to torment.” Says Guru Nanak in Farbhati measure (GG, 1329): “Whoever keeps in bondage his evil propensities, to him am I a sacrifice. One that discriminates not between evil and good, is verily straying about.”
Haumai (egoism), according to Sikh thought, is the root cause of all evil impulses. Haumai is a type of spiritual blindness. Under its influence, man becomes so much engrossed in the material world and the material self that he is unable to distinguish between the physical body and the real self, the atman. Being cut off from the real and pure self, he is now guided by the baser impulses of the material body, which lead him from one evil to another. The more one gets enchanted by the allurements of carnal cravings, the thicker becomes the wall of haumai, till the light of atman is completely shut off, and man becomes a plaything for the cravings of the flesh.
The external view of sin recognized external means of its destruction. Thus, some Vedic texts and most of the Dharmashastras and Puranas prescribe rituals of purification and ways of expiation. Offering oblations, performing sacrifices, bathing at holy places in holy waters, giving gifts to Brahmans, and undergoing physical penances are some of the means of destroying sin. Sikhism does not pay so much attention to this category of expiation (prayaschitta) of sins. Its expiatory emphasis is on prayer, contemplation (simran, smarana), and doing good to others.
Engagement in beneficent actions, service (seva), is the best means of escaping sin and expiating for it. In this connection is also mentioned the triplicate formula of nam, dan, ishnan (contemplation of God, charity to others, and the holy path). These are the cardinal duties, and they ward off sin and its consequences. The Bhagavadgita strikes a new note in declaring that all sins are destroyed through loving devotion (bhakti) to God and through His favour (prasada).
In addition to these, this text declares true knowledge (jnana) as the greatest purifier. Purity of mind and body, and performance of actions with an attitude of non-attachment to their results, are also counted as ways of going beyond sins and bondage. Great value is attached to Divine favour (prasada, nadar, mihar, or kirpa) in Sikhism. God is the supreme purifier
He purifies even the most sinful beings through His compassion and grace. God’s favour is attainable either through undivided love and faith, or through a true teacher (Guru), as Guru Amar Das declares: “Utter the name of God, and contemplate in your mind, (then you will realize) that the impurity (of sins) is washed off through His grace” (GG, 230); and again: “Through the Guru’s grace egoism is cast out, through His grace impurity (of sin) will not touch you” (GG, 230). God’s grace, however, is secured by doing good deeds, by keeping company with the holy (sadhusangat), and by ceaseless devotion to the Lord. The Guru Granth Sahib repeats several times the statement that “suniai dukh pap ka nasubai—by listening (to holy teaching), suffering and sin are destroyed.”
The very name of God is auspicious and strikes away heaps of sin. “Like a tiny spark of fire that burns the entire bundle of firewood, God’s holy Name purifies the body and destroys defilement in a moment.” The very sight of the preceptor (Guru) is the door to deliverance. Defilements are not removed without the guidance of the teacher.
It is by enshrining the Lotus Feet (of the Lord) in one’s heart that one can wash off the sins of many existences. Company of the holy (satsangati), rendering service to them (santseva; sadhseva), realization of God (brahmagyan), practice of virtue, service of the teacher (guruseva), and sense control are also recognized as efficient means of eradicating sin. According to the Christian doctrine, man suffers from the original sin of transgression committed by Adam. He can be saved only by surrendering himself to Jesus Christ.
This idea is foreign to Indian thought. While the Guru’s grace is essential, man must work out his own liberation through prayer and good deeds. The idea of an intercessor, common to the Semitic faiths, is foreign to Sikhism. In Sikhism, the Guru inspires devotion, but for release, the devotee-seeker (Sikh, jigyasu) must depend on his own endeavour, from which there is no escape.
According to the teachings of Sikhism, thoughts, words, or deeds based on egoity take one away from God. Haumai is annulled by Nam, contemplation of God’s Name, and Nam is realized by the grace of the Guru. When Nam comes to abide in the mind, man is cleansed of all sins. When the mind is polluted by the filth of sin, it can be washed clean by devotion to Nam (Japu, 20).
Numerous texts can be cited to show that Kam (lust), Krodh (wrath), Ahankar (pride), etc., have to be eradicated or subdued before Nam can abide in one’s heart. Man must shed lust, anger, falsehood, slander, greed for riches, and the ego; again, one must get rid of the lust for woman and worldly attachment; only then can one attain access to God even while living in this world of illusions. He must cleanse his mind of pride, attachment to wife and children, and desire; only then, saith Nanak, shall the holy Lord abide in man’s heart, and he can, through the Word, get merged in His Name (GG, 141).
References :
- Sabaddarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Amritsar, 1964
- Mantra, Susil Kumar, The Ethics of the Hindus. Calcutta, 1963
- Ling, T.O., The Buddhist Mythology of Evil. London, 1962
- MacaulifTe, Max Arthur, The Sikh Religion. Oxford, 1909
- Sher Singh, Philosophy of Sikhism. Lahore, 1944
- Avtar Singh, Ethics of the Sikhs. Patiala, 1970
- Nripinder Singh, The Sikh Moral Tradition. Delhi. 1990
- Wazir Singh, Philosophy of Sikh Religion. Delhi, 1983
