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Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 61

Śreyas and Paramārtha: The Ribhu–Nidāgha Teaching on Non-Dual Self

Advaita

मृण्मयं हि मृदा यद्वद्गृहं लिप्तं स्थिरीभवेत् । पार्थिवोऽयं तथा देहः पार्थिवैः परमाणुभिः ॥ ६१ ॥

mṛṇmayaṃ hi mṛdā yadvadgṛhaṃ liptaṃ sthirībhavet | pārthivo'yaṃ tathā dehaḥ pārthivaiḥ paramāṇubhiḥ || 61 ||

Así como una casa de barro se vuelve firme cuando se enluce con barro, del mismo modo este cuerpo—hecho del elemento tierra—se hace sólido por los átomos terrenales.

mṛṇmayammade of clay
mṛṇmayam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootmṛd (मृद् प्रातिपदिक) + mayaṭ (मयट् प्रत्यय)
FormAdjective (तद्धितान्त); neuter, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; ‘made of clay’
hiindeed/for
hi:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Roothi (प्रातिपदिक)
FormAvyaya; particle (निपात) giving emphasis/reason ‘indeed/for’
mṛdāwith clay
mṛdā:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Rootmṛd (मृद् प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine, Instrumental (तृतीया) singular; ‘by/with clay’
yadvatjust as
yadvat:
Upamāna (उपमान)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootyadvat (प्रातिपदिक)
FormAvyaya; comparative particle (उपमानवाचक-अव्यय) ‘just as’
gṛhamhouse
gṛham:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootgṛha (गृह प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; subject
liptamplastered
liptam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootlip (लिप् धातु) + kta (क्त प्रत्यय)
FormPast passive participle (क्त); neuter, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; agrees with gṛham; ‘smeared/plastered’
sthirībhavetwould become firm
sthirībhavet:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootsthirī-√bhū (स्थिरी + भू धातु)
FormLiṅ (लिङ्, optative/potential), Parasmaipada; 3rd person singular; ‘would become firm’
pārthivaḥearthly
pārthivaḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootpārthiva (पार्थिव प्रातिपदिक)
FormAdjective; masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; agrees with dehaḥ; ‘earthly’
ayamthis
ayam:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootidam (इदम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormPronoun; masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; ‘this’
tathāthus
tathā:
Prakāra (प्रकार)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottathā (प्रातिपदिक)
FormAvyaya; adverb (प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय) ‘thus/so’
dehaḥbody
dehaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootdeha (देह प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; subject
pārthivaiḥby earthly
pārthivaiḥ:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeAdjective
Rootpārthiva (पार्थिव प्रातिपदिक)
FormAdjective used substantively; masculine/neuter, Instrumental (तृतीया) plural; agrees with paramāṇubhiḥ by sense; ‘by earthly (ones)’
paramāṇubhiḥby atoms/particles
paramāṇubhiḥ:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Rootparamāṇu (परमाणु प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Instrumental (तृतीया) plural; ‘by atoms/particles’

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Moksha-Dharma discourse)

Vrata: none

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

FAQs

It grounds vairāgya by showing the body’s solidity is merely elemental—an aggregation of earth-atoms—encouraging the seeker to identify with the ātman rather than the perishable bhūta-made body.

By reducing bodily identity to a clay-like construct, it supports bhakti as single-pointed refuge in the Lord beyond matter; devotion becomes steadier when one stops treating the body as the true self.

A tattva-oriented, sāṅkhya-like analysis of the pañca-bhūtas is implied (useful for meditation and viveka), though no specific Vedāṅga practice (like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa) is directly taught in this verse.