Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 54
Janaka’s Quest for Liberation; Pañcaśikha’s Sāṅkhya on Renunciation, Elements, Guṇas, and the Deathless State
पंचशिख उवाच । उच्छेदनिष्टा नेहास्ति भावनिष्टा न विद्यते । अयं ह्यपि समाहारः शरीरेंद्रियचेतसाम् ॥ ५४ ॥
paṃcaśikha uvāca | ucchedaniṣṭā nehāsti bhāvaniṣṭā na vidyate | ayaṃ hyapi samāhāraḥ śarīreṃdriyacetasām || 54 ||
Pañcaśikha dit : «Ici, il n’y a pas d’ultime vérité dans l’anéantissement, ni d’ultime vérité dans la simple affirmation. Car ceci aussi n’est qu’un agrégat, un assemblage de corps, de sens et de mental».
Pañcaśikha
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It rejects two extremes—seeing liberation as total annihilation (uccheda) or as mere conceptual affirmation (bhāva)—and points to discerning the self beyond the composite of body, senses, and mind.
By de-identifying from the body–sense–mind aggregate, the seeker becomes fit for steady devotion to the Supreme (often taught in the Narada Purana as Viṣṇu-bhakti), because bhakti matures when egoic identification drops.
No specific Vedāṅga technique is taught in this verse; it functions as mokṣa-śāstra guidance—right discrimination (viveka) about śarīra, indriya, and cetas—supporting disciplined study and practice.