Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 82

Sanatkumāra’s Bhāgavata Tantra: Tattvas, Māyā-Bonds, Embodiment, and the Necessity of Dīkṣā

Devanagari script

आशीतोष्णौ महा वाद्यौ शीतोष्णौ वारितेजसोः । भास्वदग्नौ जले शुक्लं क्षितौ शुक्लाद्यनेकधा ॥ ८२ ॥

Transliteration

āśītoṣṇau mahā vādyau śītoṣṇau vāritejasoḥ | bhāsvadagnau jale śuklaṃ kṣitau śuklādyanekadhā || 82 ||

Translation

大いなる風は冷と熱の相を帯び、水と火もまた冷熱によって知られる。火は燦然と輝き、水には白さがあり、地には白さをはじめ多様な性質がさまざまに現れる。

Word by Word

• आ-शीत-उष्णौ: cold and hot (both)
• आ-शीत-उष्णौ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + शीत (प्रातिपदिक) + उष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st case/nominative), द्विवचन (dual); द्वन्द्व—"शीतश्च उष्णश्च"; आ- उपसर्गसदृश-प्रयोगः (intensifier/marker)

• महा: great
• महा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st case/nominative), द्विवचन (dual); महत्-शब्दस्य प्रथमा-द्विवचनरूपम् (irregular stem)

• वाद्यौ: sounds; musical tones (two)
• वाद्यौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st case/nominative), द्विवचन (dual)

• शीत-उष्णौ: cold and hot
• शीत-उष्णौ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शीत (प्रातिपदिक) + उष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st case/nominative), द्विवचन (dual); द्वन्द्व—"शीतश्च उष्णश्च"

• वारि-तेजसोः: of water and fire/energy
• वारि-तेजसोः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारि (प्रातिपदिक) + तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), षष्ठी (6th case/genitive), द्विवचन (dual); द्वन्द्व—"वारि च तेजश्च"; "of water and fire/light"

• भास्वत्-अग्नौ: in the shining fire
• भास्वत्-अग्नौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भास्वत् (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (7th case/locative), एकवचन (singular); कर्मधारय—"भास्वान् अग्निः"; locative sense "in the shining fire"

• जले: in water
• जले: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी (7th case/locative), एकवचन (singular)

• शुक्लम्: white; bright
• शुक्लम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुक्ल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन (singular)

• क्षितौ: in earth
• क्षितौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), सप्तमी (7th case/locative), एकवचन (singular)

• शुक्ल-आदि: (colors) beginning with white
• शुक्ल-आदि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन (singular); तत्पुरुष—"शुक्लं आदिः यस्य"/"शुक्लादि" = "beginning with white" (set-expression)

• अनेकधा: in many ways; variously
• अनेकधा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनेकधा (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching in dialogue to Narada)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

FAQs

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

It frames the world as a structured manifestation of identifiable qualities (guṇas) within the elements, encouraging discernment (viveka) between changing material attributes and the unchanging spiritual reality.

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

Indirectly, it supports bhakti by clarifying that all observable qualities—heat, cold, radiance, color—belong to prakṛti; devotion then turns the mind from these transient features toward the supreme, attributeless Lord beyond elemental change.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

A technical, Vedanga-like classification of natural properties—useful for ritual and scientific reasoning—showing how elements are inferred through qualities (e.g., radiance for fire), aligning with systematic observation found in śāstric disciplines.