Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 7
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
एवं बहुयोनिषु संभ्रांताः क्रमेण मानुषं जन्म प्राप्नुवंति । केचिच्च पुण्यविशेषाद्युत्क्रमेणापि मनुष्यजन्माश्नुवते ॥ ७ ॥
evaṃ bahuyoniṣu saṃbhrāṃtāḥ krameṇa mānuṣaṃ janma prāpnuvaṃti | kecicca puṇyaviśeṣādyutkrameṇāpi manuṣyajanmāśnuvate || 7 ||
ഇങ്ങനെ അനേകം യോണികളിൽ അലഞ്ഞുതിരിഞ്ഞ് ജീവികൾ ക്രമേണ മനുഷ്യജന്മം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു; എന്നാൽ ചിലർ പ്രത്യേക പുണ്യബലത്താൽ സാധാരണ ക്രമം വിട്ടും മനുഷ്യജന്മം ലഭിക്കുന്നു.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It teaches that the jiva’s journey through samsara normally unfolds gradually across many births, and that human birth is a significant milestone—sometimes reached sooner through exceptional merit (puṇya-viśeṣa).
By emphasizing the preciousness of human birth, it implies the urgency of using this life for sadhana—especially bhakti—since merit can bring one to a human body, where devotion and conscious spiritual practice become fully possible.
No specific Vedanga is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical discipline (dharma) that generates puṇya, which the text presents as a factor influencing one’s birth and spiritual opportunity.