Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 79
Bharata’s Attachment and the Palanquin Teaching on ‘I’ and ‘Mine’
किं हेतुभिर्वदूत्येषा वागेवाहमिति स्वयम् । तथापि वागहमेद्वक्तुमित्थं न युज्यते ॥ ७९ ॥
kiṃ hetubhirvadūtyeṣā vāgevāhamiti svayam | tathāpi vāgahamedvaktumitthaṃ na yujyate || 79 ||
« Pourquoi parlerait-elle en s’appuyant sur des raisons ? La parole elle-même proclame d’elle-même : “je suis la parole”. Et pourtant, il n’est pas juste de l’énoncer ainsi : “je suis la parole”. »
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Moksha-Dharma dialogue)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: none
FAQs
It cautions against mistaking an instrument (speech) for the Self: even if speech can describe itself, identifying oneself as “speech” reflects misplaced self-identity and is therefore unfitting.
By discouraging egoic self-definitions (“I am this/that”), it supports humility and inner purification—conditions that make devotion steadier and less entangled in pride of learning or eloquence.
It indirectly points to Vyākaraṇa and disciplined Vāk-prayoga (right use of speech): mastery of words is secondary to right understanding, and speech should be governed by discernment rather than self-assertion.