Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 143

Kṛṣṇādi-mantra-varga-varṇana

Classification of Krishna and Related Mantras

Devanagari script

गरुडेति पदस्यांते चूडाननशुचिप्रिया । शिरोमन्त्रो गरुडतः शिखे स्वाहा शिखा मनुः ॥ १४३ ॥

Transliteration

garuḍeti padasyāṃte cūḍānanaśucipriyā | śiromantro garuḍataḥ śikhe svāhā śikhā manuḥ || 143 ||

Translation

At the end of the formula, add the word “garuḍa.” The mantra “cūḍānana-śuci-priyā” is to be placed upon the head as the head-mantra. From “garuḍa” onward—ending with “svāhā”—is the śikhā-mantra, to be applied in nyāsa to the topknot (śikhā).

Word by Word

• गरुड: Garuḍa (the word ‘garuḍa’)
• गरुड: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गरुड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; मन्त्रपद-रूपेण (as mantra-word stem)

• इति: thus/‘…’ (end-quote marker)
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यर्थे (quotative particle)

• पदस्य: of the word/pada
• पदस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अन्ते: at the end
• अन्ते: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक (locative of place)

• चूडा-अनन-शुचि-प्रिया: (the mantra/word) ‘cūḍānanāśucipriyā’
• चूडा-अनन-शुचि-प्रिया: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चूडा (प्रातिपदिक) + अनन (प्रातिपदिक) + शुचि (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• शिरः-मन्त्रः: the head-mantra
• शिरः-मन्त्रः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक) + मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• गरुडतः: from/starting with ‘garuḍa’
• गरुडतः: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गरुड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; अपादान (source)

• शिखे: in/at the tuft (śikhā)
• शिखे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक

• स्वाहा: svāhā (oblation exclamation)
• स्वाहा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वाहा (अव्यय/मन्त्रपद)
• Form: मन्त्र-निपात (mantric exclamation), अव्यय

• शिखा: the śikhā-(mantra)
• शिखा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• मनुः: the mantra (manu)
• मनुः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; मन्त्रविशेषः (name of a mantra)

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhakti

Characters & Entities

• Garuḍa

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in Narada Purana?

It teaches mantra-nyāsa: sanctifying the practitioner’s body by assigning specific mantra-parts to the head and śikhā, establishing protection and ritual readiness through Garuḍa-linked formulae.

How does this verse explain the path of devotion (Bhakti)?

By prescribing precise remembrance and placement of Garuḍa-mantras, it turns devotion into embodied practice—bhakti expressed through disciplined ritual attention (upāsanā with nyāsa).

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

Śikṣā/ritual phonetics and prayoga: how mantra segments are delimited (“from garuḍa onward… ending with svāhā”) and applied in nyāsa to specific body points (śiras and śikhā).