Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 7
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
एवं बहुयोनिषु संभ्रांताः क्रमेण मानुषं जन्म प्राप्नुवंति । केचिच्च पुण्यविशेषाद्युत्क्रमेणापि मनुष्यजन्माश्नुवते ॥ ७ ॥
evaṃ bahuyoniṣu saṃbhrāṃtāḥ krameṇa mānuṣaṃ janma prāpnuvaṃti | kecicca puṇyaviśeṣādyutkrameṇāpi manuṣyajanmāśnuvate || 7 ||
इस प्रकार अनेक योनियों में भटकते हुए प्राणी क्रम से मनुष्य जन्म पाते हैं; परन्तु कुछ लोग पुण्य के विशेष प्रभाव से सामान्य क्रम के बिना ही मनुष्य जन्म प्राप्त कर लेते हैं।
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It teaches that the jiva’s journey through samsara normally unfolds gradually across many births, and that human birth is a significant milestone—sometimes reached sooner through exceptional merit (puṇya-viśeṣa).
By emphasizing the preciousness of human birth, it implies the urgency of using this life for sadhana—especially bhakti—since merit can bring one to a human body, where devotion and conscious spiritual practice become fully possible.
No specific Vedanga is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical discipline (dharma) that generates puṇya, which the text presents as a factor influencing one’s birth and spiritual opportunity.