Shloka 3
अध्याय २८६ — पराशर-उपदेशः
Ethical Restraint, Mortality, and Karma
नारद उवाच उरसेव प्रणमसे बाहुभ्यां तरसीव च । सम्प्रहृष्टमना नित्यं विशोक इव लक्ष्यसे,नारदजीने पूछा--समड़्जी! दूसरे लोग तो सिर झुकाकर प्रणाम करते हैं; परंतु आप हृदयसे प्रणाम करते जान पड़ते हैं। मालूम होता है, आप इस संसारसागरको अपनी इन दोनों भुजाओंसे ही तैरकर पार हो जायँगे। आपका मन नित्य प्रसन्न रहता है तथा आप सदा शोकशून्य-से दिखायी देते हैं
nārada uvāca | uraseva praṇamase bāhubhyāṃ tarasīva ca | samprahṛṣṭamanā nityaṃ viśoka iva lakṣyase ||
Narada said: “It seems you bow not merely with your head but with your very heart. And it appears as though you will cross this ocean of worldly existence by the strength of your own two arms. Your mind is ever gladdened, and you are seen as if free from sorrow.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
True reverence and spiritual steadiness are inward: one ‘bows with the heart’ and remains cheerful and seemingly sorrowless. The verse praises inner strength and self-reliance in crossing saṃsāra, suggesting that disciplined character and inner clarity—not mere external gestures—carry one beyond suffering.
Nārada addresses a person he observes to be unusually serene. He remarks that the person’s manner of salutation feels heartfelt, and he metaphorically notes that such a one seems capable of crossing the ‘ocean’ of worldly life by the power of their own arms—i.e., through personal effort and inner fortitude—while appearing consistently joyful and free from grief.