Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 36
Kalpa-Lakṣaṇa and Gṛhya-Kalpa: Classifications, Purifications, Implements, and Spatial Rite-Design
मूले च म्रियते होता तस्माद्धार्यं विचार्य तत् । अग्निः सूर्यश्च सोमश्च विरञ्चिरनिलो यमः ॥ ३६ ॥
mūle ca mriyate hotā tasmāddhāryaṃ vicārya tat | agniḥ sūryaśca somaśca virañciranilo yamaḥ || 36 ||
When the root is cut off, the hotṛ (sacrificial agent) also perishes; therefore, having reflected, one should uphold that very root, the foundation. Fire, the Sun, Soma, Virañci (Brahmā), Anila (Vāyu), and Yama are to be understood as its sustaining powers.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in Moksha-dharma context)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta (peace)
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka (fear)
FAQs
It teaches that spiritual practice and ritual life collapse when their ‘root’—the essential foundation such as dharma, right understanding, and proper support of sacred duty—is neglected; therefore the seeker must preserve and sustain that foundation.
By stressing the ‘root’ that must be upheld, it implies that outer acts (including worship and offerings) bear fruit only when grounded in the core orientation of reverence and right intention—qualities that mature into steady devotion.
It points to ritual reasoning in yajña—understanding the functional supports of a rite (devatā connections like Agni/Sūrya/Soma and cosmic regulators like Vāyu/Yama) and preserving the essential ‘basis’ without which the performance becomes ineffective.