Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 90
Bharata’s Attachment and the Palanquin Teaching on ‘I’ and ‘Mine’
वस्तु राजेति यल्लेके यञ्च राजभटात्मकम् । तथान्यश्च नृपेत्थं तन्न सत्यं कल्पनामयम् ॥ ९० ॥
vastu rājeti yalleke yañca rājabhaṭātmakam | tathānyaśca nṛpetthaṃ tanna satyaṃ kalpanāmayam || 90 ||
That which people in the world call “the king” as a real entity—and that which is constituted as “king and servants (retinue)”—and likewise whatever else is thought to be ‘the ruler’ in this manner: it is not ultimate truth; it is made of imagination (conceptual construction).
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in Moksha-dharma context)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: none
FAQs
It teaches tattva-viveka (discernment): worldly identities like “king” and “retinue” are conceptual labels, not ultimate reality, encouraging detachment and clarity for liberation.
By exposing worldly power and status as kalpana (constructed), the verse redirects the seeker from pride and fear toward surrender and steady devotion to the truly real—Bhagavan—without dependence on social roles.
It implicitly uses Vyakarana/Nirukta-style insight into how names and designations (like “rājā”) function: the word is a convention, and clinging to the label as absolute truth is an error in understanding.