Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 57

Śreyas and Paramārtha: The Ribhu–Nidāgha Teaching on Non-Dual Self

Advaita

Devanagari script

कुतः कुत्र क्व गंतासीत्येतदप्यर्थवत्कथम् । सोऽहं गंता न चागंता नैकदेशनिकेतनः ॥ ५७ ॥

Transliteration

kutaḥ kutra kva gaṃtāsītyetadapyarthavatkatham | so'haṃ gaṃtā na cāgaṃtā naikadeśaniketanaḥ || 57 ||

Translation

ഞാൻ എവിടെ നിന്ന് എവിടേക്ക്, ഏത് വഴിയിലൂടെ പോകും—ഈ ചോദ്യം തന്നെ എങ്ങനെ അർത്ഥവത്താകും? ഞാൻ ആ ആത്മാവ്; ഞാൻ പോകുന്നവനും അല്ല, പോകാത്തവനും അല്ല, കാരണം ഞാൻ ഒരിടത്തേയ്ക്ക് മാത്രം വസിക്കുന്നവൻ അല്ല।

Word by Word

• kutaḥ: from where
• kutaḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; interrogative adverb (प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय), ablatival sense ‘from where’

• kutra: where
• kutra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; interrogative adverb (प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय) ‘where’

• kva: where/whither
• kva: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; interrogative particle/adverb (प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय) ‘where/whither’

• gaṃtā: (I am) a goer
• gaṃtā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gam (गम् धातु) + tṛ (तृन् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kridanta (कर्तृ-नाम); masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; agent noun ‘goer’

• āsīt: was
• āsīt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: Luṅ (लुङ्, aorist/past), Parasmaipada; 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष) singular; ‘was’

• iti: thus/“…”
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; quotative particle (इति-निपात)

• etat: this
• etat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (एतद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम); neuter, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; ‘this’

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; particle (निपात) ‘also/even’

• arthavat: meaningful
• arthavat: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: arthavat (अर्थवत् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adjective; neuter, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; agrees with etat; ‘meaningful’

• katham: how
• katham: Prakāra (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; interrogative adverb (प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय) ‘how’

• saḥ: that (one)
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम); masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; ‘he/that’

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम); Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; ‘I’

• gaṃtā: goer
• gaṃtā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gam (गम् धातु) + tṛ (तृन् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kridanta (कर्तृ-नाम); masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; predicate nominal

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; negation particle (निषेध-निपात)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction (समुच्चय-निपात) ‘and’

• agaṃtā: non-goer
• agaṃtā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- (नञ्/अ- निषेध) + gaṃtā (गम्+तृन्)
• Form: Kridanta with negative prefix; masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; ‘non-goer’

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; negation particle (निषेध-निपात)

• eka-deśa-niketanaḥ: dwelling in one place
• eka-deśa-niketanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (एक प्रातिपदिक) + deśa (देश प्रातिपदिक) + niketana (निकेतन प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa compound (षष्ठी/सप्तमी-समास sense: ‘in/at one place’); masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा) singular; predicate adjective

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in Moksha-Dharma context)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhakti

Characters & Entities

• Narada
• Sanatkumara

FAQs

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

It teaches that the liberated Self is not a body that travels from one location to another; as pure consciousness, it is beyond spatial limitation, so questions of “where from/where to” lose meaning.

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

Bhakti culminates in steady absorption in the Lord/Truth where the devotee’s identity is no longer confined to bodily movement; devotion matures into inner freedom and non-attachment to place and circumstance.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

No specific Vedanga (like Vyakarana, Jyotisha, or Kalpa) is being taught; the practical takeaway is viveka and vairagya—discriminating Self from body and reducing place-based attachment in daily practice.