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Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 141

Mokṣopāya: Bhakti-rooted Jñāna and the Aṣṭāṅga Yoga of Viṣṇu-Meditation

अचञ्चलं मनः कुर्याद्ध्येये वस्तुनि सत्तम । ध्यानं ध्येयं ध्यातृभावं यथा नश्यति निर्भरम् ॥ ४१ ॥

acañcalaṃ manaḥ kuryāddhyeye vastuni sattama | dhyānaṃ dhyeyaṃ dhyātṛbhāvaṃ yathā naśyati nirbharam || 41 ||

O best of the virtuous, one should make the mind unwavering in the object fit for meditation, so that—completely—the triad of meditation, the object of meditation, and the sense of being the meditator dissolves away.

अचञ्चलम्unwavering
अचञ्चलम्:
Visheshana (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootअ + चञ्चल (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; qualifies ‘मनः’
मनःmind
मनः:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootमनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
कुर्यात्should make
कुर्यात्:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Root√कृ (धातु)
Formविधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन
ध्येयेin/with regard to the object to be meditated upon
ध्येये:
Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootध्येय (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; locative
वस्तुनिin the thing/object
वस्तुनि:
Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootवस्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन
सत्तमO best of beings
सत्तम:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
TypeNoun
Rootसत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन; vocative
ध्यानम्meditation
ध्यानम्:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootध्यान (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन
ध्येयम्the object of meditation
ध्येयम्:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootध्येय (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन
ध्यातृभावम्the state of the meditator
ध्यातृभावम्:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootध्यातृ + भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ध्यातुः भावः)
यथाso that/as
यथा:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा (अव्यय)
Formउपमान/प्रकारार्थक अव्यय (adverb: ‘as/so that’)
नश्यतिperishes
नश्यति:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Root√नश् (धातु)
Formलट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन
निर्भरम्completely, entirely
निर्भरम्:
Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootनिर्भर (प्रातिपदिक)
Formक्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभूत (adverbial use of adjective)

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in a jnana-oriented meditation context)

Vrata: none

Primary Rasa: shanta (peace)

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta (wonder)

FAQs

It teaches that true meditation culminates in the fading of all three—practice (dhyāna), object (dhyeya), and egoic doership/identity (dhyātṛ-bhāva)—indicating absorption that leads toward moksha.

While framed as dhyāna, its practical bhakti application is single-pointed fixation on the chosen divine reality (iṣṭa-devatā), where sustained focus matures into self-forgetful absorption rather than mere conceptual worship.

No specific Vedanga (like Vyākaraṇa, Jyotiṣa, or Kalpa) is taught here; the takeaway is yogic discipline—stabilizing the mind on a worthy object until mental modifications and the sense of “I meditate” subside.