Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 11

Bharata’s Attachment and the Palanquin Teaching on ‘I’ and ‘Mine’

Devanagari script

उपतिष्टेद्रविं भक्त्या गृणन्ब्रह्माक्षरं परम् । अथाश्रमे समागत्य वासुदेवं जगत्पतिम् ॥ ११ ॥

Transliteration

upatiṣṭedraviṃ bhaktyā gṛṇanbrahmākṣaraṃ param | athāśrame samāgatya vāsudevaṃ jagatpatim || 11 ||

Translation

Avec dévotion, qu’on se tienne devant le Soleil en récitant la syllabe suprême et impérissable de Brahman ; puis, de retour à l’ermitage, qu’on adore Vāsudeva, Seigneur de l’univers.

Word by Word

• upatiṣṭet: (he) would attend/stand near
• upatiṣṭet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-sthā (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); विधिलिङ्-सम्भाव्यपाठभेद, अर्थतः ‘he would/should stand near, attend’

• ravim: the Sun
• ravim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ravi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), एकवचन (singular)

• gṛṇan: praising/reciting
• gṛṇan: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gṛ (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ), परस्मैपदी, प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular), पुंलिङ्ग; सहकाल (while praising/reciting)

• brahma-akṣaram: the Brahma-syllable (sacred syllable)
• brahma-akṣaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन (singular); समासः: कर्मधारय (the supreme syllable ‘brahma’/brahma-syllable)

• param: supreme
• param: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषण of brahma-akṣaram

• atha: then/and then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (discourse particle/conjunction)

• āśrame: in the hermitage
• āśrame: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन (singular)

• samāgatya: having arrived
• samāgatya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), ‘having come/arrived’

• vāsudevam: Vāsudeva
• vāsudevam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāsudeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• jagat-patim: Lord of the world
• jagat-patim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन (singular); समासः: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (jagataḥ patiḥ)

Speaker

Sanatkumara (in instruction to Narada)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Surya
• Brahman (Akshara/Om)
• Vasudeva
• Vishnu

FAQs

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

It presents a daily devotional sequence: reverence to Sūrya with recitation of the supreme imperishable syllable (Akṣara/Om), culminating in worship of Vāsudeva—showing that all sacred recitation and discipline is fulfilled in devotion to the Lord of the universe.

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

Bhakti is emphasized as the motive force—one approaches revered deities (Sūrya) with devotional japa and then centers one’s home/āśrama worship on Vāsudeva, indicating loving, regular, and ordered practice rather than mere ritual formality.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

The verse highlights mantra-japa and daily upāsanā discipline (nitya-karma); while not naming a specific Vedāṅga, it implicitly relies on correct recitation and mantra-use (linked to Śikṣā—phonetics—and Vyākaraṇa—proper form).