Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 9
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
मनुष्यत्वेऽपि यदा स्त्रीपुरुषयोर्व्यवायस्तत्समयेरेतो यदा जरायुं प्रविशति तदैव कर्मवशाज्जंतुः शुक्रेण सह जरायुं प्रविश्य शुक्रशोणितकलले प्रवर्त्तते ॥ ९ ॥
manuṣyatve'pi yadā strīpuruṣayorvyavāyastatsamayereto yadā jarāyuṃ praviśati tadaiva karmavaśājjaṃtuḥ śukreṇa saha jarāyuṃ praviśya śukraśoṇitakalale pravarttate || 9 ||
Even in human birth, when a woman and a man unite, at that very time—when the semen enters the womb—the embodied being, driven by its past actions (karma), enters the womb along with the semen and begins its course within the embryo formed from semen and blood.
Sanatkumara (in instruction to Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It frames conception as a karmic event: the jīva’s entry into embodiment is not random but governed by prior actions, reinforcing responsibility and the moral law of karma across births.
While the verse is primarily about rebirth through karma, it sets the problem Bhakti resolves: bondage to repeated embodiment. Devotion to the Lord is taught elsewhere in the Narada Purana as the means to transcend karmic compulsion and saṃsāra.
It aligns most closely with traditional garbha/śārīra reflection used in Dharma and śāstra instruction (ethical motivation through awareness of saṃsāra), rather than a specific Vedāṅga like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa.