Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 43

Bharata’s Attachment and the Palanquin Teaching on ‘I’ and ‘Mine’

Devanagari script

सर्वलोकोपकरणं बभूवाहारवेतनः । तं तादृशमसंस्कारं विप्राकृतिविचेष्टितम् ॥ ४३ ॥

Transliteration

sarvalokopakaraṇaṃ babhūvāhāravetanaḥ | taṃ tādṛśamasaṃskāraṃ viprākṛtiviceṣṭitam || 43 ||

Translation

彼は万人の役に立つ下僕となり、報酬は食のみで働いた。だがなお、サンスカーラ（浄化と教養）を受けぬまま粗野で、天性はバラモンでありながら、それにふさわしくない振る舞いをした。

Word by Word

• sarva-loka-upakaraṇam: a tool/means for all people
• sarva-loka-upakaraṇam: Karma (कर्म) / predicate complement with babhūva
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + upakaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā/ द्वितीयā (Nom./Acc.), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘sarveṣāṃ lokānām upakaraṇam’ (instrument/means for all people)

• babhūva: became
• babhūva: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: Laṅ (Imperfect), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana; parasmaipada

• āhāra-vetanaḥ: one whose pay was food
• āhāra-vetanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) of babhūva (implied ‘he’) / appositional epithet
• Type: Noun
• Root: āhāra (प्रातिपदिक) + vetana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘āhāraḥ vetanam yasya’ (whose wage is food) (sense close to bahuvrīhi usage, but form used as noun/epithet)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (Accusative, 2nd), Ekavacana; pronoun

• tādṛśam: such; of that kind
• tādṛśam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of tam
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tādṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; agrees with tam

• asaṃskāram: uncultured; unrefined
• asaṃskāram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of tam
• Type: Adjective
• Root: asaṃskāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; ‘uncultured/without refinement’; agrees with tam

• vipra-ākṛti-viceṣṭitam: acting like a brahmin in appearance/behavior
• vipra-ākṛti-viceṣṭitam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of tam
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक) + viceṣṭita (कृदन्त, क्त from √ceṣṭ)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; PPP (क्त) from √ceṣṭ (चेष्ट्) ‘to act’; tatpuruṣa: ‘viprākṛtyā viceṣṭitam’ (acting with a brahmin-like appearance/behavior)

Speaker

Narada (in dialogue context with the Sanatkumara brothers)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

FAQs

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

It warns that mere birth or outward identity is not enough—without saṃskāra (refining disciplines) and proper conduct, one falls into spiritually unwholesome behavior, obstructing dharma and moksha.

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

Bhakti requires inner purification and sādhana-supported character; this verse highlights that a life driven only by subsistence, without refinement and discipline, weakens the sattvic foundation needed for steady devotion.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

It emphasizes saṃskāra and sadācāra as practical dharmic training—closely aligned with Kalpa (ritual discipline) and Śikṣā/Vyākaraṇa as markers of cultured, regulated brāhmaṇa conduct, even though no specific Vedanga is named.