Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 78

Rādhā-sambaddha-mantra-vyākhyā

Rādhā-Related Mantras Explained

Devanagari script

अक्षरोक्ताभिरन्याभिः स्मरोन्मादमदात्मभिः । एषा तृतीया कथिता वनिता जनमोहिनी ॥ ७८ ॥

Transliteration

akṣaroktābhiranyābhiḥ smaronmādamadātmabhiḥ | eṣā tṛtīyā kathitā vanitā janamohinī || 78 ||

Translation

また、音節ごとに唱えられる他の言葉によって、その本性が欲・狂乱・酩酊であるもの――これが第三の女と説かれる、人々を惑わす妖艶の者である。

Word by Word

• akṣara-uktābhiḥ: with (those) uttered as syllables
• akṣara-uktābhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣara (प्रातिपदिक) + ukta (प्रातिपदिक; √vac/√uk धातु-कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (akṣaraiḥ uktāḥ = ‘uttered by syllables/letters’); स्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural)

• anyābhiḥ: with other (ones)
• anyābhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural)

• smara-unmāda-mada-ātmabhiḥ: with (those) whose nature is erotic passion, frenzy, and intoxication
• smara-unmāda-mada-ātmabhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smara (प्रातिपदिक) + unmāda (प्रातिपदिक) + mada (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (having the nature of love-madness-intoxication); स्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural)

• eṣā: this (she/this one)
• eṣā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• tṛtīyā: the third
• tṛtīyā: Pratijñā/Predicate (विशेष्य-विशेषणभावे विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular) — ordinal used as noun

• kathitā: has been declared
• kathitā: Kriyā (क्रिया) — passive predicate
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathita (प्रातिपदिक; √kath धातु-कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘has been said/declared’

• vanitā: woman, maiden
• vanitā: Karta (कर्ता) — appositional
• Type: Noun
• Root: vanitā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular) — apposition to eṣā

• jana-mohinī: enchantress of people
• jana-mohinī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक) + mohinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (janān mohayati iti); स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular), qualifying vanitā/eṣā

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa (disgust)

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka (fear)

Characters & Entities

• Smara (Kāma)

FAQs

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

It warns that speech charged with desire, frenzy, and intoxication can become a force of delusion, so spiritual life requires vigilance over words and the impulses behind them.

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

By identifying seductive, passion-driven speech as a distraction, it implicitly supports bhakti disciplines like purity of mind and controlled senses, so one’s speech and attention remain oriented toward the Divine rather than agitation.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

The verse uses the idea of akṣara (syllable/phoneme) and articulated utterance, aligning with Vedanga concerns (especially śikṣā and vyākaraṇa) about precise speech—and its responsible, dharmic application.