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Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 111

Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas and the Sin-destroying Power of Viṣṇu-smaraṇa

Devanagari script

नारायणार्चनस्यैते कलां नार्हंति षोडशीम् । किं वै वेदैर्मखैः शास्त्रैः किंवा तीर्थनिषेवणैः ॥ १११ ॥

Transliteration

nārāyaṇārcanasyaite kalāṃ nārhaṃti ṣoḍaśīm | kiṃ vai vedairmakhaiḥ śāstraiḥ kiṃvā tīrthaniṣevaṇaiḥ || 111 ||

Translation

Estas otras prácticas no merecen ni la decimosexta parte del mérito del culto a Nārāyaṇa. Frente a ello, ¿de qué sirven los Vedas, los sacrificios, los śāstra, o incluso la visita a los tīrtha sagrados?

Word by Word
नारायण-अर्चनस्यof Nārāyaṇa-worship
नारायण-अर्चनस्य:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
TypeNoun
Rootनारायण (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्चन (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — neuter, genitive singular; ‘of the worship of Nārāyaṇa’
एतेthese
एते:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootएतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — masculine, nominative plural; demonstrative pronoun
कलाम्a fraction/part
कलाम्:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootकला (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — feminine, accusative singular
नnot
न:
Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन (अव्यय)
Formनिषेध-अव्यय (negation)
अर्हन्तिare worthy of/amount to
अर्हन्ति:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootअर्ह् (धातु)
Formलट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद — present indicative, 3rd person plural, active
षोडशीम्a sixteenth part
षोडशीम्:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootषोडशी (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (कलाम्) — feminine, accusative singular; ‘sixteenth’
किम्what (use)
किम्:
Prashna (प्रश्न)
TypeNoun
Rootकिम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — neuter interrogative (what?)
वैindeed
वै:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootवै (अव्यय)
Formनिश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)
वेदैःwith the Vedas
वेदैः:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Rootवेद (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — masculine, instrumental plural
मखैःwith sacrifices
मखैः:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Rootमख (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — masculine, instrumental plural
शास्त्रैःwith treatises/scriptures
शास्त्रैः:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Rootशास्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — neuter, instrumental plural
किम्what (use)
किम्:
Prashna (प्रश्न)
TypeNoun
Rootकिम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — neuter interrogative
वाor
वा:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootवा (अव्यय)
Formविकल्प-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: or)
तीर्थ-निषेवणैःby visiting sacred places
तीर्थ-निषेवणैः:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Rootतीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + निषेवण (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — neuter, instrumental plural; ‘by resorting to tīrthas’
Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities
N
Narayana
V
Vishnu

FAQs

It declares Nārāyaṇa-arcana (devotional worship of Viṣṇu) as supremely efficacious—so powerful that other religious merits are described as not even one-sixteenth in comparison.

Bhakti is presented as the highest, most direct means: sincere worship of Nārāyaṇa surpasses reliance on external authorities (texts) or merit-accumulating acts (yajña, tīrtha-sevā) when pursued without the core of devotion.

It implicitly subordinates ritual performance (yajña) and śāstric learning—often supported by Vedāṅga disciplines like Kalpa (ritual procedure) and Vyākaraṇa (grammar for textual mastery)—to the lived practice of Nārāyaṇa worship.

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