Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 24
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
एवं बालत्वमापन्नो जंतुस्तत्रापि स्वमलमूत्रलित्पदेह आध्यात्मिकादिपीड्यमानोऽपि वक्तुमशक्तक्षुत्तृषापीडितो रुदिते सति स्तनादिकं देयमिति मन्वानाः प्रयतन्ते ॥ २४ ॥
evaṃ bālatvamāpanno jaṃtustatrāpi svamalamūtralitpadeha ādhyātmikādipīḍyamāno'pi vaktumaśaktakṣuttṛṣāpīḍito rudite sati stanādikaṃ deyamiti manvānāḥ prayatante || 24 ||
Ainsi, parvenu à l’état de nourrisson, l’être vivant—même là—porte un corps souillé de ses propres excréments et urine; bien qu’accablé de peines intérieures (ādhyātmika) et d’autres souffrances, il ne peut parler. Tourmenté par la faim et la soif, il pleure; et les gardiens, pensant : «Il faut donner du lait et semblables choses», s’emploient à le nourrir et à l’apaiser.
Sanatkumāra (teaching Nārada in dialogue on saṁsāra and embodied suffering)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It highlights the helplessness and inherent suffering of embodied existence even from infancy—unable to speak, driven by hunger and thirst—encouraging dispassion (vairāgya) and a turn toward liberation-oriented life.
While not naming bhakti directly, it frames saṁsāra as intrinsically painful and dependent, which supports the Purāṇic conclusion that taking refuge in Bhagavān (especially Viṣṇu-bhakti, as emphasized elsewhere in the Nārada Purāṇa) is the stable remedy beyond bodily conditions.
No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa, Jyotiṣa, or Kalpa) is taught in this verse; it is primarily a dharma–mokṣa reflection on the realities of birth and bodily limitation.