Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 161

Pañca-prakṛti-nirūpaṇa and Mantra-vidhi: Rādhā, Mahālakṣmī, Durgā, Sarasvatī, Sāvitrī; plus Sāvitrī-Pañjara

Devanagari script

ॐकारहसिनी सर्वा सुधा सा षड्गुणावती । माया स्वधा रमा तन्वी रिपुघ्नी रक्षणणी सती ॥ १६१ ॥

Transliteration

oṃkārahasinī sarvā sudhā sā ṣaḍguṇāvatī | māyā svadhā ramā tanvī ripughnī rakṣaṇaṇī satī || 161 ||

Translation

তিনি ওঁকারে হাস্যময়ী, সর্বব্যাপিনী, স্বয়ং সুধা; ষড়্গুণসমন্বিতা। তিনি মায়া, স্বধা, রমা (শ্রী), সূক্ষ্ম-তন্বী, রিপুঘ্নী, রক্ষিণী ও সতী।

Word by Word

• ॐकारहसिनी: she who laughs/utters with ‘Oṃkāra’
• ॐकारहसिनी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ॐकार + हसिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ॐकारे हसिनी/ॐकारहासयुक्ता (determinative)

• सर्वा: all; universal
• सर्वा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘all, entire’

• सुधा: nectar; ambrosia
• सुधा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• षड्गुणावती: possessing six qualities
• षड्गुणावती: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट् + गुण + वत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षड्गुणाः यस्याः सन्ति (possessing six qualities)

• माया: Māyā
• माया: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्वधा: Svadhā (ritual exclamation/deity)
• स्वधा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; पितृयज्ञ-सम्बद्धा देवता/उच्चारण

• रमा: Ramā (Lakṣmī)
• रमा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; लक्ष्मी-नाम

• तन्वी: slender
• तन्वी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तन्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘slender-bodied’

• रिपुघ्नी: slayer of enemies
• रिपुघ्नी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रिपु + घ्नी (प्रातिपदिक; from √हन् with -घ्निन्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; रिपून् घ्नन्ती (enemy-slaying)

• रक्षणणी: protectress
• रक्षणणी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्षणणी (प्रातिपदिक; from √रक्ष्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; रक्षणकर्त्री (protectress)

• सती: virtuous; true
• सती: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सती (कृदन्त; √अस् धातु, शतृ/वर्तमानकृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle) ‘being’; अर्थे ‘साध्वी/पतिव्रता’ (virtuous)

Speaker

Sage Nārada (in a Vedāṅga-oriented stotra/recitation context, as transmitted in the Nārada Purāṇa dialogue frame)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Omkara
• Maya
• Svadhā
• Ramā (Śrī/Lakṣmī)
• Satī (as an epithet)

FAQs

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

The verse presents the Goddess as the power behind Oṁ, as all-pervading nectar-like grace, and as the protective śakti who both veils (Māyā) and sustains (Ramā/Śrī), teaching that the same divine energy governs mantra, prosperity, and spiritual protection.

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

By listing intimate, devotional epithets—protector, enemy-destroyer, auspicious Śrī—this verse trains the mind to remember the Divine with reverence and trust, a core bhakti practice where repeated name-contemplation (nāma-smaraṇa/stotra) becomes devotion in action.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

It foregrounds mantra-principles: Oṁkāra as the seed of recitation, and the ritual term Svadhā used in Pitṛ-yajña (ancestral offerings), linking devotional praise with precise Vedic liturgical vocabulary.