Shloka 66
Nārada Explains the Allegory of King Purañjana
Deha–Indriya–Manaḥ Mapping and the Remedy of Bhakti
मन एव मनुष्यस्य पूर्वरूपाणि शंसति । भविष्यतश्च भद्रं ते तथैव न भविष्यत: ॥ ६६ ॥
mana eva manuṣyasya pūrva-rūpāṇi śaṁsati bhaviṣyataś ca bhadraṁ te tathaiva na bhaviṣyataḥ
O King, may auspiciousness be upon you. The mind alone indicates the living being’s past and future bodies. According to one’s association with material nature, the mind’s disposition brings a corresponding body; thus from the mind one may know the former life and the body to come.
The mind is the index of information about one’s past and future lives. If a man is a devotee of the Lord, he cultivated devotional service in his previous life. Similarly, if one’s mind is criminal, he was criminal in his last life. In the same way, according to the mind, we can understand what will happen in a future life. In Bhagavad-gītā (14.18) it is said:
FAQs
This verse teaches that the mind is the key indicator of one’s past conditioning and the decisive factor for future auspiciousness; without correcting the mind’s direction, a favorable future does not manifest.
Nārada instructs the king—who was absorbed in ritualistic, fruitive pursuits—that inner transformation is essential; the mind must be redirected from karma-centered life to spiritual intelligence and devotion.
Track where the mind repeatedly goes (desires, fears, habits) and consciously redirect it toward sādhana—hearing, chanting, prayer, and ethical living—so that future choices and outcomes become auspicious.