Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 81

Anadhyaya and the Winds: From Vedic Recitation Protocol to Sanatkumara’s Moksha-Upadesha

Devanagari script

इत्येष सप्तदशको राशिख्यक्तसंज्ञकः । सर्वैरिहेंद्रियार्थैश्च व्यक्ताव्यक्तैर्हि हितम् ॥ ८१ ॥

Transliteration

ityeṣa saptadaśako rāśikhyaktasaṃjñakaḥ | sarvairiheṃdriyārthaiśca vyaktāvyaktairhi hitam || 81 ||

Translation

Ainsi, cet agrégat en dix-sept parties est nommé « la collection dite du manifeste (vyakta) ». Il est constitué ici de tous les objets des sens et sert de fondement pour comprendre le manifeste comme l’immanifeste (avyakta).

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-निपात)

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun

• saptadaśakaḥ: the set of seventeen
• saptadaśakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saptadaśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); numeral-derivative ‘group of seventeen’

• rāśi-khyāta-saṃjñakaḥ: called/known as ‘rāśi’
• rāśi-khyāta-saṃjñakaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rāśi (प्रातिपदिक) + khyāta (कृदन्त, √khyā) + saṃjñaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound: rāśi-khyātā saṃjñā yasya/saḥ; Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); adjective qualifying saptadaśakaḥ

• sarvaiḥ: by/with all
• sarvaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग) (or Napumsaka in sense), Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन); instrumental ‘by/with all’

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (देशवाचक-अव्यय)

• indriya-arthaiḥ: with the objects of the senses
• indriya-arthaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indriya (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound: indriyāṇām arthāḥ; Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction particle (समुच्चय-अव्यय)

• vyakta-avyaktaiḥ: manifest and unmanifest
• vyakta-avyaktaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyakta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + avyakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva (द्वन्द्व) compound: vyaktaiḥ ca avyaktaiḥ; Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग) (or Napumsaka in sense), Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन); qualifying indriyārthaiḥ

• hi: indeed; for
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic/causal particle (निपात)

• hitam: beneficial; conducive
• hitam: Pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hita (कृदन्त; √dhā with hi- prefix, past participle)
• Form: Kṛdanta (कृदन्त) past passive participle; Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); predicate adjective

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Moksha-Dharma dialogue)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

FAQs

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

It frames the ‘seventeenfold aggregate’ as the domain of manifest experience (sense-objects and related categories), helping the seeker discriminate the seen (vyakta) from the unseen (avyakta) as a step toward liberation.

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

By clarifying what belongs to the manifest field of experience, it supports detachment and right discernment; such clarity steadies the mind, making devotion to the Supreme (beyond vyakta/avyakta) more single-pointed.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

The verse aligns with systematic enumeration and classification used in śāstric analysis (akin to Sāṅkhya-style tattva-vicāra), a method that supports precise doctrinal understanding rather than a ritual or grammar rule directly.