Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

सप्तग्रंथिविधानस्य यत्तद्गौणस्यकारणम् । गुणानामविभागोऽत्र ह्याधारे क्ष्मादिभागवत् ॥ ६४ ॥

Transliteration

saptagraṃthividhānasya yattadgauṇasyakāraṇam | guṇānāmavibhāgo'tra hyādhāre kṣmādibhāgavat || 64 ||

Translation

‘സപ്ത-ഗ്രന്ഥി’ എന്ന ഗൗണ (ദ്വിതീയ) വിന്യാസം പറയപ്പെടുന്നതിന്റെ കാരണം ഇതാണ്—ഇവിടെ ആധാരത്തിൽ ഗുണങ്ങൾ വേർതിരിഞ്ഞ് വിഭജിക്കപ്പെട്ടിട്ടില്ല; ആധാരത്തിൽ ഭൂമി മുതലായ ഘടകങ്ങൾ ഒറ്റയ്ക്ക് ഒറ്റയ്ക്ക് ലഭിക്കാത്തതുപോലെ.

Word by Word

• सप्त-ग्रन्थि-विधानस्य: of the arrangement of seven knots
• सप्त-ग्रन्थि-विधानस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त + ग्रन्थि + विधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-श्रृङ्खला: (सप्तानां ग्रन्थीनां विधानम्)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक/relative pronoun

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; correlative pronoun

• गौणस्य: of the secondary (aspect)
• गौणस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गौण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘secondary/figurative’

• कारणम्: cause
• कारणम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• गुणानाम्: of the guṇas
• गुणानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• अविभागः: non-differentiation
• अविभागः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविभाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘non-separation/undividedness’

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/adverb): ‘here’

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): ‘indeed/for’

• आधारे: in the substratum/support
• आधारे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• क्ष्मा-आदि-भागवत्: like (something) having parts such as earth etc.
• क्ष्मा-आदि-भागवत्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्ष्मा + आदि + भागवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपमानवाचक ‘-वत्’; तत्पुरुषः (क्ष्मादीनां भागवत् = ‘having parts like earth etc.’)

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in a Vedanga/technical context)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: none

FAQs

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

It stresses that reality at the foundational level is a mixture of constituents (guṇas), so rigid, purely separated classifications are only secondary; discernment must account for the blended nature of prakṛti in the substratum.

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

By showing that the guṇas are intermingled in the basis of experience, it implicitly supports Bhakti as a stabilizing orientation beyond guṇa-fluctuations—turning the mind from mixed material qualities toward the Lord who transcends them.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

A technical principle used in śāstric analysis: categories can be ‘gauṇa’ (derivative) when the underlying basis contains inseparable mixtures—an interpretive rule relevant to systematic disciplines (e.g., nirukta/semantic analysis and śāstra classification).