Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 40

The Greatness of Viṣṇu

Viṣṇor Māhātmya

Devanagari script

दिव्यदेहधरौ भूत्वा विष्णुलोकमुपागतौ । तत्र स्थित्वा ब्रह्मकल्पशतं साग्रं द्विजोत्तम ॥ ४० ॥

Transliteration

divyadehadharau bhūtvā viṣṇulokamupāgatau | tatra sthitvā brahmakalpaśataṃ sāgraṃ dvijottama || 40 ||

Translation

وبعد أن اتخذنا جسدين سماويين، بلغنا عالمَ فيشنو. وهناك، يا أفضلَ ذوي الولادتين، أقمنا زيادةً يسيرةً على مئةِ كَلْبَةٍ من كَلْباتِ براهما.

Word by Word

• दिव्यदेहधरौ: having divine bodies
• दिव्यदेहधरौ: Visheshana (विशेषण/of implied ‘आवाम्’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + देह (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (दिव्यः देहः यस्य/यौ; ‘divine-bodied’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण/prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भू (धातु) (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिकक्रिया

• विष्णुलोकम्: Vishnu’s world
• विष्णुलोकम्: Karma (कर्म/Object) (उपागतौ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘of Viṣṇu’), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• उपागतौ: reached/arrived
• उपागतौ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + गम् (धातु) (क्त-प्रत्यय, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• स्थित्वा: having stayed
• स्थित्वा: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण/prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्था (धातु) (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिकक्रिया

• ब्रह्मकल्पशतम्: a hundred Brahmā-kalpas
• ब्रह्मकल्पशतम्: Karma (कर्म/Object) (कालपरिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मकल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative: ‘a hundred (of) Brahmā-kalpas’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular) (परिमाणवाचक)

• साग्रम्: and more (with an extra)
• साग्रम्: Visheshana (विशेषण/of ‘ब्रह्मकल्पशतम्’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (उपसर्ग/सह) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (स + अग्र = ‘with an excess’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• द्विजोत्तम: O best of Brahmins
• द्विजोत्तम: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (श्रेष्ठः द्विजः), पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Narada (narrating within the Narada Purana dialogue tradition)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhakti

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Vishnuloka
• Brahma
• Dvija (brāhmaṇa addressee)

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in Narada Purana?

It presents the fruit of perfected devotion and merit: the soul attains a divine, non-material embodiment and reaches Viṣṇu’s realm, indicating liberation-oriented proximity to the Supreme.

How does this verse explain the path of devotion (Bhakti)?

By emphasizing arrival in Viṣṇuloka and the gaining of a divya-deha, the verse frames bhakti’s culmination as direct communion with Viṣṇu’s abode rather than merely worldly rewards.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

The verse implicitly uses Purāṇic cosmological time-reckoning—kalpa calculation (linked to Jyotiṣa-style chronology)—to convey the vastness of divine time compared to human lifespan.