Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 172

Graha–Ketu–Utpāta Lakṣaṇas: Solar/Lunar Omens, Comets, Eclipses, and Calendar Rules

Devanagari script

बिलप्रवेशगणितभूतसाधनलेखनम् । शिल्पकर्मकलाकूपनिक्षेपोद्धरणादि यत् ॥ १७२ ॥

Transliteration

bilapraveśagaṇitabhūtasādhanalekhanam | śilpakarmakalākūpanikṣepoddharaṇādi yat || 172 ||

Translation

Dazu gehören das technische Wissen vom Betreten unterirdischer Gänge, Berechnung und Rechenkunst, Riten und Verfahren im Zusammenhang mit Geistern, die Kunst des Schreibens, Handwerk und angewandte Künste; ebenso Arbeiten wie das Bergen von in Brunnen verborgenen Hinterlegungen und dergleichen.

Word by Word

• बिलप्रवेशगणितभूतसाधनलेखनम्: writing/recording of means concerning cave-entry, calculation, and elemental matters
• बिलप्रवेशगणितभूतसाधनलेखनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिल + प्रवेश + गणित + भूत + साधन + लेखन (प्रातिपदिक-समाहार)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular); समासः बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (determinative chain)

• शिल्पकर्मकलाकूपनिक्षेपोद्धरणादि: crafts, works, arts, well-depositing and extraction, etc.
• शिल्पकर्मकलाकूपनिक्षेपोद्धरणादि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिल्प + कर्म + कला + कूप + निक्षेप + उद्धरण + आदि (प्रातिपदिक-समाहार)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular); समासः समाहार-द्वन्द्व (collective copulative) + आदि (etc.)

• यत्: which/that (whatever)
• यत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular); सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

Speaker

Narada (in discourse with Sanatkumara tradition; listing technical knowledges)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

FAQs

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

It frames worldly and technical skills—mathematics, writing, crafts, and even occult methods—as part of catalogued human knowledge, implicitly distinguishing such attainments from the higher aim of mokṣa taught in the surrounding Moksha-dharma context.

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

By enumerating powerful but worldly disciplines, it indirectly points to bhakti and liberation-oriented dharma as superior ends; skills and arts may support life and ritual order, but devotion to the Supreme is not replaced by technical mastery.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

While not naming a single Vedāṅga explicitly, the verse foregrounds gaṇita (computation) and lekhanam (writing/scribal practice), both essential to preserving śāstra, ritual records, and technical treatises used alongside Vedāṅga learning.