Shloka 4

Narmadā Māhātmya with the Praise of Amarakantaka Tīrthas

Devanagari script

नारद उवाच । नर्मदा सरितां श्रेष्ठा सर्वपापप्रणाशिनी । तारयेत्सर्वभूतानि स्थावराणि चराणि च

Transliteration

nārada uvāca | narmadā saritāṃ śreṣṭhā sarvapāpapraṇāśinī | tārayetsarvabhūtāni sthāvarāṇi carāṇi ca

Translation

Nārada sprach: „Die Narmadā ist die Beste unter den Flüssen, Vernichterin aller Sünden; sie geleitet alle Wesen hinüber — die unbeweglichen wie die beweglichen.“

Word by Word

• नारद: Nārada
• नारद: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• नर्मदा: Narmadā
• नर्मदा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सरिताम्: of rivers
• सरिताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• श्रेष्ठा: the best
• श्रेष्ठा: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (नर्मदाया विशेषणम्)

• सर्वपापप्रणाशिनी: destroyer of all sins
• सर्वपापप्रणाशिनी: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + पाप + प्रणाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘सर्वेषां पापानां प्रणाशिनी’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तारयेत्: would ferry across, delivers
• तारयेत्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तॄ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Potential/optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सर्वभूतानि: all beings
• सर्वभूतानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘सर्वाणि भूतानि’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन

• स्थावराणि: immobile (beings)
• स्थावराणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थावर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (भूतानां विशेषभेदः)

• चराणि: mobile (beings)
• चराणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात)

Speaker

Nārada

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: river

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: तारयेत्सर्वभूतानि = तारयेत् + सर्वभूतानि।

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Narmadā

FAQs

What does this verse teach about the Narmadā’s spiritual status?

It declares Narmadā the foremost among rivers and attributes to her the power to destroy all sins, marking her as a supreme tīrtha (sacred ford).

What is meant by “immobile and mobile beings” (sthāvara and carā)?

It is a traditional Sanskrit pair meaning all categories of life—immobile entities like plants (and figuratively the fixed world) and mobile beings like animals and humans—indicating universal beneficence.

What ethical or devotional lesson is implied here?

The verse promotes reverence for sacred rivers and the practice of tīrtha-related devotion (such as pilgrimage, bathing, and remembrance) as a means of inner purification and upliftment.