Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 86

Yakṣiṇī-Mantra-Sādhana Nirūpaṇa

Lakṣmī-avatāra-vidyāḥ: Bālā, Annapūrṇā, Bagalā

Devanagari script

मुनिस्तु नारदश्छदो बृहती बगलामुखी । देवता नेत्रपंचेषुनवपंचदिगर्णकैः ॥ ८६ ॥

Transliteration

munistu nāradaśchado bṛhatī bagalāmukhī | devatā netrapaṃceṣunavapaṃcadigarṇakaiḥ || 86 ||

Translation

ઋષિ નારદ; છંદ બૃહતી; દેવતા બગલામુખી. (મંત્રનો વિન્યાસ/જપ) પાંચ ‘નેત્ર’, નવ, પાંચ, દિશાઓ અને અક્ષરોના ક્રમથી કરવો જોઈએ।

Word by Word

• muniḥ: sage
• muniḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: indeed / but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), contrast/emphasis

• nāradaḥ: Nārada
• nāradaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• chandaḥ: meter (chandas)
• chandaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: chandas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• bṛhatī: Bṛhatī (meter)
• bṛhatī: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bṛhatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); name of a Vedic meter

• bagalāmukhī: Bagalāmukhī
• bagalāmukhī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bagalā-mukhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः—‘Bagalā-faced’ (name of the deity)

• devatā: the deity
• devatā: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• netra-pañca-īṣu-nava-pañca-dik-arṇakaiḥ: with the (enumerated) letter-groups (five, five, nine, five, etc.)
• netra-pañca-īṣu-nava-pañca-dik-arṇakaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: netra (प्रातिपदिक) + pañca (संख्या) + iṣu (प्रातिपदिक) + nava (संख्या) + pañca (संख्या) + dik (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Plural (बहुवचन); बहुपद-समासः (मुख्यतः द्विगु/तत्पुरुष-समुच्चय) indicating counts/letters: ‘with (the) five-netra, five-iṣu, nine, five-dik arṇakas (letters/syllables)’; exact traditional enumeration context-dependent

Speaker

Narada (teaching in a technical/vedanga-mantra register)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Narada
• Bagalamukhi

FAQs

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

It gives the standard mantra-śāstra identifiers—ṛṣi, chandas, and devatā—showing that correct ritual application depends on knowing the seer, metre, and presiding deity of a mantra.

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

Bhakti here is expressed as disciplined mantra-upāsanā: devotion becomes ‘well-formed’ when the devotee honors the devatā (Bagalāmukhī) through the proper Vedic framework of chandas and ṛṣi.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

Chandas (Vedāṅga of prosody) is explicitly named via the Bṛhatī metre, and the verse also reflects mantra-prayoga conventions (ṛṣi–chandas–devatā and letter/nyāsa-style arrangement).