Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 53
Vāmana’s Advent, Aditi’s Hymn, Bali’s Gift, and the Mahatmya of Bhū-dāna
यथा शूकरमत्स्याद्या अवतारास्तव प्रभो । तथायमपि को वेद तव विश्वेश चेष्टितम् ॥ ५३ ॥
yathā śūkaramatsyādyā avatārāstava prabho | tathāyamapi ko veda tava viśveśa ceṣṭitam || 53 ||
O Herr, wie man Deine Avatāras wie Varāha (den Eber) und Matsya (den Fisch) kennt, so auch diese Deine Erscheinung—doch wer kann wahrhaft wissen, o Weltenherr, das Geheimnis Deines göttlichen Wirkens (līlā)?
Narada
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
The verse emphasizes humility before the Divine: even when avatāras like Matsya and Varāha are spoken of in scripture, the Lord’s full intention and cosmic “ceṣṭita” (divine activity) remains ultimately beyond complete human grasp, encouraging reverent devotion rather than intellectual pride.
By admitting that no one can fully know the Lord’s workings, the verse places bhakti at the center—trust, surrender, and praise of Viṣṇu as Viśveśa—rather than trying to reduce God to purely conceptual understanding.
No specific Vedāṅga technique (like Vyākaraṇa, Jyotiṣa, or Kalpa ritual procedure) is taught in this verse; the takeaway is theological discernment used in Purāṇic study—recognizing scriptural avatāra narratives while accepting the transcendence of the Lord’s full plan.