Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 43
Janaka’s Quest for Liberation; Pañcaśikha’s Sāṅkhya on Renunciation, Elements, Guṇas, and the Deathless State
ऐत दस्तीति नास्तीति न कश्चित्प्रतिदृश्यते । तेषां विमृशतामेव तत्सम्यगभिधावताम् ॥ ४३ ॥
aita dastīti nāstīti na kaścitpratidṛśyate | teṣāṃ vimṛśatāmeva tatsamyagabhidhāvatām || 43 ||
No one is actually seen who can truly be described as either “it exists” or “it does not exist.” Only for those who reflect deeply and speak of it correctly does that reality become properly understood.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Moksha-Dharma section)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It points beyond simplistic labels of “exists” and “does not exist,” teaching that ultimate reality is not grasped as an ordinary object; it is approached through disciplined reflection (vimarśa) and right articulation rooted in discrimination (viveka).
While framed as jñāna-oriented inquiry, it supports bhakti by removing rigid conceptual extremes; a devotee learns to approach the Divine not as a merely worldly object of proof, but as a reality realized through purified understanding and sincere contemplation.
Vyākaraṇa and Nirukta are indirectly relevant: the verse stresses “samyag abhidhā”—speaking/defining correctly—implying careful use of words and meanings so spiritual teaching does not fall into misleading claims of absolute existence or absolute non-existence.