Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 12

The Exposition of the Ṣaṣṭhī-vrata Observed Through the Twelve Months

Devanagari script

एकैकाष्टशतं ग्राह्यमष्टाविंशतिरेव च । अक्षताः कलिका गृह्य ताभिर्देवीं प्रपूजयेत् ॥ १२ ॥

Transliteration

ekaikāṣṭaśataṃ grāhyamaṣṭāviṃśatireva ca | akṣatāḥ kalikā gṛhya tābhirdevīṃ prapūjayet || 12 ||

Translation

Man nehme von jedem einzeln hundertacht und dazu noch achtundzwanzig; nimmt man Akṣata (ungebrochene Reiskörner) und Blütenknospen, so verehre man damit die Göttin nach rechter Vorschrift.

Word by Word

• ekaika-aṣṭaśatam: one hundred and eight (each)
• ekaika-aṣṭaśatam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka + eka + aṣṭaśata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); dvigu-samāsa: ‘ekaikaṃ aṣṭaśatam’ = ‘one hundred and eight each’ (count)

• grāhyam: should be taken
• grāhyam: Vidhi (विधि)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √grah (ग्रह् धातु) → grāhya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Kṛtya (कृत्य) gerundive/obligative (यत्), Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; ‘to be taken/should be taken’

• aṣṭāviṃśatiḥ: twenty-eight
• aṣṭāviṃśatiḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭāviṃśati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); numeral compound ‘eight-and-twenty’ = 28

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-nipāta (अवधारण-निपात) particle

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (समुच्चय-निपात) conjunction

• akṣatāḥ: unbroken rice grains
• akṣatāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग) (also used as napuṃsaka in some contexts), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन); ‘unbroken grains (rice)’

• kalikāḥ: flower-buds
• kalikāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन); ‘buds’

• gṛhya: having taken
• gṛhya: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √grah (ग्रह् धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), avyaya-kriyā (अव्ययक्रिया): ‘having taken’

• tābhiḥ: with those (items)
• tābhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana; pronoun ‘with those’

• devīm: the Goddess
• devīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd/द्वितीया), Ekavacana

• prapūjayet: should worship
• prapūjayet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√pūj (पूज् धातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्/optative), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana; parasmaipada

Speaker

Narada (teaching in a ritual-instruction context; traditional dialogue frame with Sanatkumara lineage implied)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Devi

FAQs

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

It emphasizes disciplined, count-based worship (saṅkhyā-niyama) using pure, auspicious offerings—akṣata and buds—signaling completeness (108) and regulated observance (28) in Devī-upāsanā.

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

Bhakti here is expressed through careful, tangible offerings and attentive procedure—devotion becomes steady when the worshipper serves the Devī with purity (akṣata) and mindful order (fixed counts).

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

It reflects kalpa/ritual practice (a Vedāṅga-aligned domain): selecting proper materials (akṣata, kalikā) and following prescribed numerical measures for offerings in pūjā.