Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 67
Hanūmaccarita
The Account of Hanumān
मम प्राणाधिकस्येह सर्वदा शिवयोगिनः । ममापि मरणं सत्यं शिष्यच्छद्मा यतो गुरुः ॥ ६७ ॥
mama prāṇādhikasyeha sarvadā śivayoginaḥ | mamāpi maraṇaṃ satyaṃ śiṣyacchadmā yato guruḥ || 67 ||
ഈ ശിവയോഗി എനിക്ക് പ്രാണത്തേക്കാൾ പ്രിയൻ; എങ്കിലും എന്റെ മരണവും നിശ്ചയം, കാരണം ഗുരു ശിഷ്യന്റെ വേഷം ധരിച്ചു വന്നിരിക്കുന്നു।
Narada (within a guru–śiṣya discourse framework; Narada Purana commonly frames teachings through Narada and the Sanatkumara tradition)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna (compassion)
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta (wonder)
FAQs
It underscores the paradoxical power of the guru: even when the teacher appears as a student, the guru’s authority remains intact, and that reversal can become spiritually destabilizing for the unprepared—hence the speaker’s stark admission of “certain death.”
It points to bhakti expressed as reverence and unwavering recognition of the guru’s true status, not judging by external form; devotion matures when humility persists even amid role-reversal and tests.
The verse primarily highlights dharmic pedagogy rather than a specific Vedanga technique: the discipline of proper guru–śiṣya protocol (maryādā), essential for transmitting technical sciences like Vyākaraṇa or Śikṣā without ego or confusion.