Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 35
Bharata’s Attachment and the Palanquin Teaching on ‘I’ and ‘Mine’
न ददर्श च कर्माणि शास्त्राणि जगृहे न च । उक्तोऽपि बहुशः किंचिज्जंड वाक्यमभाषत ॥ ३५ ॥
na dadarśa ca karmāṇi śāstrāṇi jagṛhe na ca | ukto'pi bahuśaḥ kiṃcijjaṃḍa vākyamabhāṣata || 35 ||
Il ne porta même pas son regard vers les devoirs prescrits, ni ne prit les Écritures; et, bien qu’instruit maintes fois, il ne prononça que quelques paroles lourdes et dénuées de sens.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada on Moksha-dharma and the signs of ignorance/jaḍatā)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It identifies a tamasic, spiritually stagnant condition: refusal to engage in dharmic duties and refusal to study śāstra, even after repeated guidance—showing a mind closed to transformation.
Bhakti in the Narada Purana is grounded in receptive listening (śravaṇa) and guidance from śāstra and gurus; this verse shows the opposite temperament—one that cannot properly receive instruction, thereby blocking devotional growth.
The verse implicitly emphasizes the necessity of śāstra-grahaṇa (taking up authoritative texts); without foundational disciplines like Vyākaraṇa (clear understanding of words) and Kalpa (right performance of duties/rites), one’s speech and practice become “jaḍa” (incoherent and ineffective).