Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 72

Bharata’s Attachment and the Palanquin Teaching on ‘I’ and ‘Mine’

Devanagari script

सुखदुःखोपभोगौ तु तौ देहाद्युपपादकौ । धर्माधर्मोद्भवौ भोक्तुं जंतुर्देहादिमृच्छति ॥ ७२ ॥

Transliteration

sukhaduḥkhopabhogau tu tau dehādyupapādakau | dharmādharmodbhavau bhoktuṃ jaṃturdehādimṛcchati || 72 ||

Translation

Die Erfahrungen von Freude und Leid sind es wahrlich, die den Körper und alles Weitere des verkörperten Daseins hervorbringen. Aus Dharma und Adharma entsprungen, erlangt das Lebewesen einen Körper und andere Bedingungen, um jene Früchte zu erfahren.

Word by Word

• सुख-दुःख-उपभोगौ: the experiences/enjoyments of pleasure and pain
• सुख-दुःख-उपभोगौ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक) + दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + उपभोग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (सुखदुःखयोः उपभोगौ)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• देह-आदि-उपपादकौ: producing (the) body and so on
• देह-आदि-उपपादकौ: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier of ‘सुखदुःखोपभोगौ/तौ’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + उपपादक (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-आधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (देहादीनाम् उपपादकौ = producing/bringing about bodies etc.)

• धर्म-अधर्म-उद्भवौ: arising from dharma and adharma
• धर्म-अधर्म-उद्भवौ: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अधर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (धर्माधर्मयोः उद्भवौ = arising from dharma and adharma)

• भोक्तुम्: to experience
• भोक्तुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-रूप (infinitive); अर्थः—कर्तुं/भोक्तुं (to experience/enjoy)

• जन्तुः: the living being
• जन्तुः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• देह-आदि: a body and the like
• देह-आदि: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (देहश्चादयश्च = body etc., as a set)

• ऋच्छति: attains/comes to
• ऋच्छति: Kriya (क्रिया/Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ऋच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

FAQs

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

It states a core Moksha-Dharma principle: embodiment is driven by karmic fruition—pleasure and pain, born from dharma and adharma, necessitate a body so the jīva can undergo their results, highlighting the mechanism of saṃsāra.

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

By showing that dharma/adharma bind the jīva to repeated birth for experiencing sukha-duḥkha, it implicitly points to the need for liberation-oriented practice—bhakti to Bhagavān (especially Viṣṇu in Narada Purana) as a means to transcend karmic bondage rather than merely generating further results.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

The verse primarily teaches karma-siddhānta (cause-and-effect of actions) rather than a specific Vedāṅga; practically, it supports Dharma-śāstra reasoning used in ritual and conduct—understanding how righteous and unrighteous acts mature into lived experiences.