Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 14
Dharmānukathana
Narration of Dharma
कूपे पादफलं ज्ञेयं वाप्यां पद्माकरोन्मितम् । वापीशतगुणं प्रोक्तं कुल्यायां भूपतेः फलम् ॥ १४ ॥
kūpe pādaphalaṃ jñeyaṃ vāpyāṃ padmākaronmitam | vāpīśataguṇaṃ proktaṃ kulyāyāṃ bhūpateḥ phalam || 14 ||
Sache qu’un puits ne donne qu’un quart du mérite; et qu’un étang donne un mérite mesuré par le nombre de parterres de lotus qu’il entretient. Un grand bassin (vāpi) est dit conférer cent fois le mérite de l’étang; et le mérite d’un canal d’irrigation (kulyā) est déclaré revenir au roi.
Sanatkumara (in dialogue with Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: none
FAQs
It ranks the spiritual merit (puṇya) of water-supply works, teaching that sustaining life through accessible water is a high dharmic act, with greater and broader benefit yielding greater merit.
While not directly a bhakti-verse, it supports bhakti through dharma: serving beings (by providing water) is a sattvic offering aligned with devotion, since caring for creation is treated as pleasing to the Divine order upheld by Vishnu.
It reflects applied dharma-śāstra reasoning—measuring merit by public utility and scope—useful for ritual planning (kriyā) and governance (rāja-dharma), though it does not specifically teach a technical Vedanga like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa.