Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 41

Mahāviṣṇu-Mantras: Aṣṭākṣarī, Sudarśana-Astra, Nyāsa Systems, Āvaraṇa-Pūjā, and Prayogas

Devanagari script

तारो नमनो भगवते विष्णवे सर्वभू ततः । तात्मने वासुदेवाय सर्वात्मेति पदं वदेत् ॥ ४१ ॥

Transliteration

tāro namano bhagavate viṣṇave sarvabhū tataḥ | tātmane vāsudevāya sarvātmeti padaṃ vadet || 41 ||

Translation

ആദ്യം ‘താര’ (ഓം) ഉച്ചരിച്ച്, തുടർന്ന് ‘നമനഃ’ എന്നു പറയണം; പിന്നെ ‘ഭഗവതേ വിഷ്ണവേ’; തുടർന്ന് ‘സർവഭൂ’; തുടർന്ന് ‘താത്മനേ’; ‘വാസുദേവായ’; അവസാനം ‘സർവാത്മാ’—സകലത്തിന്റെയും ആത്മാവ്—എന്ന പദം ചൊല്ലണം.

Word by Word

• tāraḥ: ‘tāra’ (the syllable/term)
• tāraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Item/term being stated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• namanaḥ: ‘namana’ (salutation)
• namanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Item/term being stated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: namana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhagavate: to the Blessed Lord
• bhagavate: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन)

• viṣṇave: to Viṣṇu
• viṣṇave: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन)

• sarva-bhūḥ: the all-pervading one
• sarva-bhūḥ: Karta (कर्ता/epithet in apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); बहुव्रीहिः: sarvaṃ bhavati/ sarveṣu bhūteṣu bhavati iti (the all-becoming/all-pervading one)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla (काल/sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण), ‘then/thereafter’

• tāt-mane: to the Self (as fatherly/inner self)
• tāt-mane: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन)

• vāsudevāya: to Vāsudeva
• vāsudevāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāsudeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन)

• sarva-ātma: ‘the Self of all’
• sarva-ātma: Karma (कर्म/quoted epithet as object of saying)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); बहुव्रीहिः: sarveṣāṃ ātma yasya (whose self is all / the self of all)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-प्रयोगः)

• padam: the word/phrase
• padam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• vadet: should say/recite
• vadet: Kriyā (क्रिया/verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Sanatkumara (in instruction to Narada on mantra-prayoga/nyasa within Vedanga-oriented teaching)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Vasudeva
• Om (Tara)

FAQs

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

It teaches a precise, reverential construction of a Viṣṇu-focused mantra, beginning with Oṁ and culminating in ‘Sarvātmā’, emphasizing Viṣṇu as the indwelling Self of all beings.

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

Bhakti is expressed through ordered mantra-utterance—salutation (namaḥ) and divine names (Viṣṇu, Vāsudeva)—ending in the insight that the Lord is ‘the Self of all’, uniting devotion with realization.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

It highlights mantra-prayoga: the correct sequencing of mantra-padas (words/segments) used in ritual recitation and nyāsa-style practice, a technical discipline aligned with Vedanga-style precision in sacred speech.