Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 52
The Characteristics of Devotion to Hari
अहो कष्टमहो कष्टमहोकष्टमिदं वपुः । विनश्वरं समाज्ञाय धर्मं नैवाचरत्ययम् ॥ ५२ ॥
aho kaṣṭamaho kaṣṭamahokaṣṭamidaṃ vapuḥ | vinaśvaraṃ samājñāya dharmaṃ naivācaratyayam || 52 ||
अहो, किती कष्टदायक—किती कष्टदायक हे शरीर! नश्वर आहे हे जाणूनही मनुष्य धर्माचरण करत नाही.
Sanatkumara (in instruction to Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It stresses vairāgya (dispassion): once the body is known to be temporary, the wise response is to live by dharma, using human life for inner purification and liberation rather than neglect.
By highlighting the body’s perishability, it redirects effort toward lasting spiritual practice—dharma culminates in steady devotion to Vishnu, which does not perish with the body.
No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa) is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical discipline—regular dharmic conduct (ācāra) as the foundation for all scriptural learning and sādhanā.