Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 13
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
अहोऽत्यंतपापोऽहंपूर्वजन्मनिभृत्यापत्यमित्रयोषिद्गृहक्षेत्रधनधान्यादिष्वत्यंतरागेण कलत्रपोषणार्थं परधनक्षेत्रादिकं पश्यतो हरणाद्युपायैरपह्यत्य कामांधतया परस्त्रीहरणादिकमनुभूय महापापान्याचरंस्तैः पापैरहमेक एवंविधनरकाननुभूय पुनः स्थावरादिषु महादुःखमनुभूय संप्रति जरायुणा परिवेष्टितोऽन्तर्दुखेन बहिस्तापेन च दह्यामि ॥ १३ ॥
aho'tyaṃtapāpo'haṃpūrvajanmanibhṛtyāpatyamitrayoṣidgṛhakṣetradhanadhānyādiṣvatyaṃtarāgeṇa kalatrapoṣaṇārthaṃ paradhanakṣetrādikaṃ paśyato haraṇādyupāyairapahyatya kāmāṃdhatayā parastrīharaṇādikamanubhūya mahāpāpānyācaraṃstaiḥ pāpairahameka evaṃvidhanarakānanubhūya punaḥ sthāvarādiṣu mahāduḥkhamanubhūya saṃprati jarāyuṇā pariveṣṭito'ntardukhena bahistāpena ca dahyāmi || 13 ||
ああ、私はなんと罪深いことか。前世において、使用人、子供、友人、女性、家、土地、富、穀物などへの激しい執着から、そして妻を養うために、私は他人が見ている前でさえ、様々な手段で他人の富や財産を盗んだ。情欲に目がくらみ、他人の妻を奪うなどの行為を犯した。そのような大罪を犯し、私一人がそれらの罪によって地獄の苦しみを味わった。そして再び、動かないものやその他の下等な生命形態の間で大きな悲惨さを経験した後、今、子宮に閉じ込められ、内なる苦悩と外なる苦痛に焼かれ、焦がされている。
A suffering jīva (embodied soul) speaking in first person as a confession from within the womb (garbha)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It presents a direct karmic self-audit: intense attachment and transgressive acts (stealing, violating others’ spouses) lead to naraka, lower rebirths, and finally the anguish of womb-bound existence—urging vairāgya and a turn toward dharma.
By exposing the misery produced by kāma (desire) and possessiveness, the verse prepares the mind for bhakti: when one sees the futility of sense-driven life and its karmic aftermath, one becomes fit to seek refuge in the Lord and live by restraint and righteousness.
No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa) is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is dharma-śāstric ethics—avoid paradhana-haraṇa and para-strī-gamana/haraṇa, which are treated as mahāpāpa with severe karmic results.