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Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 50

Hari-nāma Mahimā and Caraṇāmṛta: The Redemption of the Hunter Gulika

Uttaṅka Itihāsa

अहो दुःखं मनुष्याणां ममताकुलचेतसाम् । महापापानि कृत्वापि परान्पुष्यांति यत्नतः ॥ ५० ॥

aho duḥkhaṃ manuṣyāṇāṃ mamatākulacetasām | mahāpāpāni kṛtvāpi parānpuṣyāṃti yatnataḥ || 50 ||

Ach, wie beklagenswert ist der Zustand der Menschen, deren Geist vom „Ich“ und „Mein“ aufgewühlt ist! Selbst nach großen Sünden mühen sie sich eifrig, die Ihren und ihre Interessen zu nähren und zu fördern.

ahoalas/oh!
aho:
Exclamation (निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootaho (अव्यय)
FormExclamatory particle (विस्मयादि-निपात)
duḥkhamsorrow/misery
duḥkham:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootduḥkha (दुःख प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd—प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular; used as exclamatory object ‘what sorrow!’
manuṣyāṇāmof humans
manuṣyāṇām:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
TypeNoun
Rootmanuṣya (मनुष्य प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Genitive (6th—षष्ठी), Plural
mamatā-ākula-cetasāmof those whose minds are disturbed by possessiveness
mamatā-ākula-cetasām:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
TypeNoun
Rootmamatā + ākula + cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
FormGenitive (6th—षष्ठी), Plural; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘ममतया आकुलं चेतः येषाम्’ (those whose mind is agitated by possessiveness)
mahāpāpānigreat sins
mahāpāpāni:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootmahā + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative (2nd—द्वितीया), Plural; कर्मधारय: ‘महान्ति पापानि’
kṛtvāhaving done
kṛtvā:
Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootkṛ (कृ धातु)
FormAbsolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
apieven
api:
Emphasis (निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootapi (अव्यय)
FormParticle (निपात) ‘even/also’
parānothers
parān:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootpara (पर प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Accusative (2nd—द्वितीया), Plural
puṣyantinourish/benefit
puṣyanti:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootpuṣ (पुष् धातु)
FormPresent tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन); Parasmaipada
yatnataḥwith effort/diligently
yatnataḥ:
Adverbial (रीति)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootyatna (यत्न प्रातिपदिक)
FormAblative used adverbially (यत्नतः—यत्नात्), adverb of manner

Sanatkumāra (teaching Nārada)

Vrata: none

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

N
Narada
S
Sanatkumara

FAQs

It warns that mamatā (the sense of “mine”) clouds judgment so deeply that people keep reinforcing worldly bonds and interests even after grave wrongdoing, thereby prolonging suffering and karmic bondage.

By exposing possessiveness as a root problem, it implicitly points toward redirecting attachment from “mine and ours” to surrender and devotion to Bhagavān—where one’s effort is purified and no longer driven by selfish clinging.

No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa, Jyotiṣa, or Kalpa) is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical discernment—recognizing attachment as a cause of adharma and correcting intention behind actions.