Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 81

Anadhyaya and the Winds: From Vedic Recitation Protocol to Sanatkumara’s Moksha-Upadesha

Devanagari script

इत्येष सप्तदशको राशिख्यक्तसंज्ञकः । सर्वैरिहेंद्रियार्थैश्च व्यक्ताव्यक्तैर्हि हितम् ॥ ८१ ॥

Transliteration

ityeṣa saptadaśako rāśikhyaktasaṃjñakaḥ | sarvairiheṃdriyārthaiśca vyaktāvyaktairhi hitam || 81 ||

Translation

So wird dieses siebzehnfache Aggregat „die Sammlung namens das Manifestierte (vyakta)“ genannt. Es besteht hier aus allen Sinnesobjekten und dient als Grundlage, das Manifestierte wie auch das Unmanifestierte (avyakta) zu verstehen.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-निपात)

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun

• saptadaśakaḥ: the set of seventeen
• saptadaśakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saptadaśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); numeral-derivative ‘group of seventeen’

• rāśi-khyāta-saṃjñakaḥ: called/known as ‘rāśi’
• rāśi-khyāta-saṃjñakaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rāśi (प्रातिपदिक) + khyāta (कृदन्त, √khyā) + saṃjñaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound: rāśi-khyātā saṃjñā yasya/saḥ; Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); adjective qualifying saptadaśakaḥ

• sarvaiḥ: by/with all
• sarvaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग) (or Napumsaka in sense), Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन); instrumental ‘by/with all’

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (देशवाचक-अव्यय)

• indriya-arthaiḥ: with the objects of the senses
• indriya-arthaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indriya (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound: indriyāṇām arthāḥ; Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction particle (समुच्चय-अव्यय)

• vyakta-avyaktaiḥ: manifest and unmanifest
• vyakta-avyaktaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyakta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + avyakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva (द्वन्द्व) compound: vyaktaiḥ ca avyaktaiḥ; Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग) (or Napumsaka in sense), Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन); qualifying indriyārthaiḥ

• hi: indeed; for
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic/causal particle (निपात)

• hitam: beneficial; conducive
• hitam: Pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hita (कृदन्त; √dhā with hi- prefix, past participle)
• Form: Kṛdanta (कृदन्त) past passive participle; Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); predicate adjective

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Moksha-Dharma dialogue)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

FAQs

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

It frames the ‘seventeenfold aggregate’ as the domain of manifest experience (sense-objects and related categories), helping the seeker discriminate the seen (vyakta) from the unseen (avyakta) as a step toward liberation.

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

By clarifying what belongs to the manifest field of experience, it supports detachment and right discernment; such clarity steadies the mind, making devotion to the Supreme (beyond vyakta/avyakta) more single-pointed.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

The verse aligns with systematic enumeration and classification used in śāstric analysis (akin to Sāṅkhya-style tattva-vicāra), a method that supports precise doctrinal understanding rather than a ritual or grammar rule directly.