Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 41

Nārada’s Hymn to Viṣṇu

Nāradasya Viṣṇu-stavaḥ

Devanagari script

हैहयस्यापराधेन ह्येकविंशतिसंख्यया । क्षत्रियान्वयभेत्ता यो जामदग्न्यं नतोऽस्मि तम् ॥ ४१ ॥

Transliteration

haihayasyāparādhena hyekaviṃśatisaṃkhyayā | kṣatriyānvayabhettā yo jāmadagnyaṃ nato'smi tam || 41 ||

Translation

Me postro ante Jāmadagnya (Paraśurāma), quien, por la ofensa de los Haihaya, se volvió el aniquilador del linaje de los kṣatriyas, exterminándolos veintiuna veces.

Word by Word

• हैहयस्य: of the Haihaya (king/line)
• हैहयस्य: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हैहय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• अपराधेन: by the offense
• अपराधेन: करण (करणम्/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपराध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• हि: indeed
• हि: सम्बन्ध (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• एकविंशति: twenty-one
• एकविंशति: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकविंशति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषण; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (indeclinable-like numeral stem)

• संख्यया: by number; as a count
• संख्यया: करण (Instrument/means; ‘in number’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• क्षत्रिय: Kshatriyas
• क्षत्रिय: कर्म (Object; within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन — Accusative plural (समासपूर्वपद)

• अन्वय: lineage
• अन्वय: कर्म (Object; within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्वय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• भेत्ता: the breaker/destroyer (of the Kshatriya lineage)
• भेत्ता: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिद् (धातु) → भेत्तृ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्तरि तृच् (agent noun); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; समासः: क्षत्रिय-अन्वय-भेत्ता (तत्पुरुष)

• यः: who
• यः: कर्ता (Subject; relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Relative pronoun, nominative singular

• जामदग्न्यम्: Jāmadagnya (Paraśurāma)
• जामदग्न्यम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जामदग्न्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular

• नतः: bowed
• नतः: कर्तृ-विशेषण (Predicate adjective of speaker)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नम् (धातु) → नत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; ‘bowed’

• अस्मि: I am
• अस्मि: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन — ‘I am’

• तम्: him
• तम्: कर्म (Object of ‘I bow to’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Demonstrative pronoun, accusative singular

Speaker

Narada (invocatory praise within the narration)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Jāmadagnya (Paraśurāma)
• Haihaya
• Kṣatriyas
• Jamadagni

FAQs

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

It honors Paraśurāma as a dharma-enforcing power: wrongdoing (aparādha) brings consequences, and divine or divinely-aided agency restores moral order.

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

By offering namaskāra to Jāmadagnya, the verse models bhakti through remembrance and reverence for sacred exemplars—seeing the Lord’s protective justice reflected in avatāra narratives.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

Primarily Nirukta/etymic sense and Itihāsa-Purāṇa application: terms like anvaya-bhettā and the fixed tradition of “twenty-one times” preserve canonical meaning and narrative precision rather than a ritual or astrological rule.