Shloka 12

नारदमोहवर्णनम् — Description of Nārada’s Delusion

Devanagari script

तत्कन्यां प्रेक्ष्य स मुनिर्नारदः प्राह विस्मितः । केयं राजन्महाभागा कन्या सुरसुतोपमा

Transliteration

tatkanyāṃ prekṣya sa munirnāradaḥ prāha vismitaḥ | keyaṃ rājanmahābhāgā kanyā surasutopamā

Translation

Seeing that young maiden, the sage Nārada spoke in amazement: “O King, who is this most fortunate girl, resembling the daughter of the gods?”

Word by Word

• tat-kanyām: that maiden
• tat-kanyām: Karma (कर्म) (object of ‘prekṣya’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) ‘that girl’; Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• prekṣya: having seen
• prekṣya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √prekṣ (प्रेक्ष्) (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय, ल्यप्): ‘having seen’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• muniḥ: sage
• muniḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• nāradaḥ: Nārada
• nāradaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; proper noun

• prāha: said
• prāha: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ah (अह्) (धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (लिट्, perfect), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Singular

• vismitaḥ: astonished
• vismitaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (state of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vismita (कृदन्त; √smi (स्मि) with vi-, past participle)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; used predicatively

• kā: who? which?
• kā: Karta (कर्ता) (in question)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; interrogative

• iyam: this (female)
• iyam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular

• mahā-bhāgā: very fortunate
• mahā-bhāgā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of ‘kanyā’
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) ‘greatly fortunate’; Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• kanyā: maiden, girl
• kanyā: Karta (कर्ता) (in question)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• sura-suta-upamā: like a divine child
• sura-suta-upamā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of ‘kanyā’
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + suta (प्रातिपदिक) + upamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) (upamāna-sambandha: ‘like the son/daughter of gods’); Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating; within the story, Nārada speaks to a King)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Characters & Entities

• Narada

FAQs

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

Nārada’s wonder highlights the presence of divine śakti even within worldly creation—beauty and auspiciousness point to the Lord’s ordering power, reminding devotees to perceive the sacred (Śiva’s grace) within the manifest world.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Though the verse is narrative, it supports Saguna devotion: extraordinary auspicious signs in creation are read as indicators of Śiva’s providence, preparing the mind to approach the Linga as the visible, worship-worthy form through which the transcendent is accessed.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice reverent darśana and japa: on seeing auspicious forms, inwardly remember Śiva with the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and cultivate humility and wonder, the devotional mood that ripens into steady worship.