Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 83
Bhakti-Śraddhā-Ācāra-Māhātmya and the Commencement of the Mārkaṇḍeya Narrative
मृकण्डुरुवाच । नमः परेशाय परात्मरुपिणे परात्परस्प्रात्परतः पराय । अपारपाराय परानुकर्त्रे नमः परेभ्यः परपारणाय ॥ ८३ ॥
mṛkaṇḍuruvāca | namaḥ pareśāya parātmarupiṇe parātparasprātparataḥ parāya | apārapārāya parānukartre namaḥ parebhyaḥ parapāraṇāya || 83 ||
Mṛkaṇḍu said: Salutations to the Supreme Lord, whose very form is the Paramātman—higher than the highest, beyond all beyond; the ultimate Transcendent. Salutations to Him whose farther shore is unreachable, who guides beings toward the Supreme; salutations to the One beyond every transcendent state, who carries all across to the further shore.
Mṛkaṇḍu
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It is a compact Vedāntic-styled hymn identifying the Lord as Paramātman—utterly transcendent and the sole power who enables crossing beyond saṃsāra to liberation (the ‘further shore’).
Bhakti appears here as stuti (praise) and śaraṇāgati (taking refuge): the devotee bows to the Supreme as the guide who leads beings to the Highest, implying reliance on divine grace rather than mere self-effort.
The verse primarily functions as a devotional stotra rather than a technical Vedāṅga lesson; its practical takeaway is mantra-like usage in japa/pūjā as a concise praise invoking the Lord as Paramātman and mokṣa-dātā (giver of liberation).