Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 22

Rādhā-sambaddha-mantra-vyākhyā

Rādhā-Related Mantras Explained

Devanagari script

ग्रासस्थिता स्वयं राधा स्वयं शक्तिस्वरूपिणी । शेषास्तु षोडशकला द्वात्रिंशत्तत्कलाः स्मृताः ॥ २२ ॥

Transliteration

grāsasthitā svayaṃ rādhā svayaṃ śaktisvarūpiṇī | śeṣāstu ṣoḍaśakalā dvātriṃśattatkalāḥ smṛtāḥ || 22 ||

Translation

‘ഗ്രാസ’സ്ഥാനത്തിൽ സ്വയം ശ്രീരാധ തന്നേ; അവൾ സത്യത്തിൽ ശക്തിസ്വരൂപിണി. ശേഷമുള്ള പ്രകടനങ്ങൾ ഷോഡശ കലകളായും, അതിന്റെ ദ്വാത്രിംശത് ഉപകലകളായും സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• ग्रास-स्थिता: situated in the morsel/act of eating
• ग्रास-स्थिता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्रास (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थित (कृदन्त; √स्था धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त/क्त (past passive participle) ‘स्थित’ = ‘standing/placed’; तत्पुरुषः (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘ग्रासे स्थिता’

• स्वयम्: herself; by herself
• स्वयम्: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/बल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आत्मनः/स्वतः (indeclinable adverb)

• राधा: Rādhā
• राधा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• स्वयम्: herself
• स्वयम्: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/बल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्त-बलार्थ (emphatic repetition)

• शक्ति-स्वरूपिणी: whose form is Power (Śakti)
• शक्ति-स्वरूपिणी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वरूपिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘शक्तेः स्वरूपिणी’ = having the nature/form of power

• शेषाः: the remaining (ones)
• शेषाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (अथवा विशेषणरूपेण), प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• तु: but
• तु: Discourse marker (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• षोडश-कलाः: sixteen parts/kalās
• षोडश-कलाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षोडश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः ‘षोडश कलाः’ = sixteen parts/arts

• द्वात्रिंशत्-तत्-कलाः: thirty-two of those kalās
• द्वात्रिंशत्-तत्-कलाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वात्रिंशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष-समासः) ‘तस्य कलाः’ + संख्या-विशेषण ‘द्वात्रिंशत्’ = thirty-two of those kalās

• स्मृताः: are said/are remembered
• स्मृताः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारार्थे कर्मणि-प्रयोगे क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भावः; वस्तुतः कृदन्त-प्रयोगः ‘स्मृत’ (past passive participle) प्रथमा बहुवचन (पुं/स्त्री-सम्बद्ध); अर्थः ‘are said/are remembered’

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in dialogue)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Radha
• Shakti

FAQs

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

It identifies Rādhā as the very essence of Śakti and frames other divine expressions as measured ‘kalās,’ teaching that devotional theology rests on an ordered understanding of divine power and its manifestations.

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

By presenting Rādhā as Śakti-svarūpiṇī, it supports a bhakti view where devotion is directed to the Divine along with His inseparable power, and where forms and attributes are understood as purposeful manifestations (kalās) aiding worship and contemplation.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

The verse reflects a Vedāṅga-like method of classification and precise enumeration (kalā-counting), a technical habit used in śāstric study to systematize doctrines for recitation, teaching, and ritual-theological clarity.