Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 27
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
ततस्तु तरुणभावेन धनार्जनमर्जितस्य रक्षणं तस्य नाशव्ययादिषु चात्यंतदुःखिता मायया मोहिताः कामक्रोधादिदुष्टमनसाः सदासूयापरायणाः परस्वपरस्त्रीहरणोपायपरायणाः पुत्रमित्रकलत्रादिभरणोपायचिंतापरायणा वृथाहंकारदूषिताः पुत्रादिषु व्याध्यादि पीडितेषु सत्सु सर्वव्यात्पिं परित्यज्य रोगादिभिः क्लेशितानां समीपे स्वयमाध्यात्मिकदुःखेन परिप्लुता । वक्ष्यमाणप्रकारेण चितामश्नुवते ॥ २७ ॥
tatastu taruṇabhāvena dhanārjanamarjitasya rakṣaṇaṃ tasya nāśavyayādiṣu cātyaṃtaduḥkhitā māyayā mohitāḥ kāmakrodhādiduṣṭamanasāḥ sadāsūyāparāyaṇāḥ parasvaparastrīharaṇopāyaparāyaṇāḥ putramitrakalatrādibharaṇopāyaciṃtāparāyaṇā vṛthāhaṃkāradūṣitāḥ putrādiṣu vyādhyādi pīḍiteṣu satsu sarvavyātpiṃ parityajya rogādibhiḥ kleśitānāṃ samīpe svayamādhyātmikaduḥkhena pariplutā | vakṣyamāṇaprakāreṇa citāmaśnuvate || 27 ||
Then, in the vigor of youth, they become intent on guarding the wealth they have earned, and are deeply distressed by its loss, expenditure, and the like. Deluded by māyā, their minds corrupted by lust, anger, and other vices, ever devoted to envy, they pursue means of stealing others’ property and abducting others’ wives. Absorbed in anxious schemes to support sons, friends, and spouse, and tainted by vain ego, when their children and others are afflicted by disease and suffering, they abandon all proper conduct; and, standing near those tormented by illnesses and hardships, they themselves are overwhelmed by inner (ādhyātmika) sorrow. In the manner to be described, they finally reach the funeral pyre.
Narada (in instruction to the Sanatkumara tradition of inquiry; didactic narration)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
It diagnoses how māyā turns youthful energy into anxiety over wealth, pride, and unethical acts, culminating in inner misery and an unprepared death—urging vairāgya and dharmic living.
By exposing the misery of ego, envy, and attachment, it indirectly points to bhakti as the remedy: redirecting the mind from possessiveness and vice toward remembrance of the Divine and righteous conduct.
No specific Vedāṅga technique is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical discipline (dharma) and mind-governance—controlling kāma and krodha as foundational preparation for higher śāstric study and sādhana.