Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 34
The Description of the Skanda Purāṇa’s Anukramaṇī
Index/Summary
ततो मार्गस्य माहात्म्ये विधानं स्नानजं तथा । पुंड्रादिकीर्तनं चात्र मालाधारणपुण्यकम् ॥ ३४ ॥
tato mārgasya māhātmye vidhānaṃ snānajaṃ tathā | puṃḍrādikīrtanaṃ cātra mālādhāraṇapuṇyakam || 34 ||
Puis, en décrivant la grandeur de cette voie sacrée, sont exposées les prescriptions, ainsi que le mérite né du bain rituel ; et l’on y explique aussi les marques telles que le puṇḍra (tilaka vaiṣṇava), avec le mérite spirituel de porter une mālā de dévotion.
Narada (as narrator/teacher within the Purva Bhaga framework, in dialogue tradition with the Sanatkumāras)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It frames devotion as a disciplined path (mārga) supported by prescribed observances—purificatory bathing, devotional identifiers like puṇḍra, and mālā-wearing—showing that sincere bhakti is strengthened by regulated conduct and sacred symbols.
Bhakti here is not only inner remembrance but also lived practice: purity through snāna, visible dedication through tilaka (puṇḍra), and steady devotional engagement through mālā-dhāraṇa, all treated as meritorious supports to the path’s greatness (māhātmya).
Primarily ritual procedure and conduct (vidhāna/ācāra) rather than a specific Vedāṅga: it points to applied dharma—how to perform purificatory acts (snāna) and adopt devotional insignia (puṇḍra, mālā) correctly as part of sādhana.