Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 111

गङ्गामाहात्म्य — The Greatness of the Gaṅgā

Devanagari script

यन्नेत्रजानलं दृष्ट्वा पातालतलवासिनः । अकालप्रलयं मत्वा च्रुकुशुः शोकलालसाः ॥ १११ ॥

Transliteration

yannetrajānalaṃ dṛṣṭvā pātālatalavāsinaḥ | akālapralayaṃ matvā crukuśuḥ śokalālasāḥ || 111 ||

Translation

Als die Bewohner der Pātāla-Welten das aus den Augen geborene Feuer sahen, schrien sie auf, da sie meinten, eine vorzeitige Weltenauflösung (Pralaya) sei gekommen, von Kummer und Panik überwältigt.

Word by Word

• यत्: which/that
• यत्: Karma (कर्म/Object; of दृष्ट्वा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक सर्वनाम

• नेत्र-ज-अनलम्: the fire born from (his) eyes
• नेत्र-ज-अनलम्: Karma (कर्म/Object; apposition to यत्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक) + अनल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः ‘नेत्रेभ्यः जातः अनलः’ (fire born from the eyes)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund), ‘having seen’

• पाताल-तल-वासिनः: the dwellers of the netherworld region
• पाताल-तल-वासिनः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक) + वासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (पातालतले वासिनः)

• अकाल-प्रलयम्: untimely dissolution (premature apocalypse)
• अकाल-प्रलयम्: Karma (कर्म/Object; of मत्वा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अकाल (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (अकालः प्रलयः)

• मत्वा: having thought
• मत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund), ‘having thought/considered’

• च्रुकुशुः: cried out
• च्रुकुशुः: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्रुश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• शोक-लालसाः: grief-stricken
• शोक-लालसाः: Visheshana (विशेषण of पातालतलवासिनः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोक (प्रातिपदिक) + लालस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘शोके लालसाः’ (eager/overcome with grief)

Speaker

Suta (narrating the Purana account)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Characters & Entities

• Patala
• Pralaya

FAQs

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

It highlights how beings, when confronted with overwhelming divine power, mistake it for cosmic annihilation—showing the smallness of fear-based perception against the scale of Purāṇic cosmology.

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

By portraying terror at cosmic signs, it implicitly points to bhakti as the stabilizing refuge: devotion to Vishnu is the Purāṇic antidote to panic during upheaval and perceived pralaya.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

The verse uses the technical Purāṇic term “akāla-pralaya” (untimely dissolution), reflecting traditional time-knowledge (kāla-vicāra) associated with Jyotiṣa-style cosmological reckoning, though no direct ritual or grammar instruction is given.