Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 43
Sṛṣṭi-pralaya-kathana: Mahābhūta-guṇāḥ, Vṛkṣa-indriya-vādaḥ, Prāṇa-vāyu-vyavasthā
यत्प्राणाः सर्वभूतानां सृष्टं प्रथमतो जलम् । यत्प्राणाः सर्वभूतानां वर्द्धंते येन च प्रजाः ॥ ४३ ॥
yatprāṇāḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ sṛṣṭaṃ prathamato jalam | yatprāṇāḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ varddhaṃte yena ca prajāḥ || 43 ||
Prāṇa ialah daya yang dengannya, bagi semua makhluk, air mula-mula terbit dalam penciptaan; dan dengan prāṇa itulah semua makhluk membesar serta keturunan bertambah.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada on Moksha-Dharma and the principle of Prāṇa)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It identifies prāṇa as the universal life-supporting principle behind both cosmic manifestation (the first emergence of water) and embodied flourishing (growth and progeny), directing the seeker to contemplate the sustaining reality beneath the body and the world.
By pointing to prāṇa as the hidden sustainer of all beings, the verse supports a bhakti-oriented insight: life is not self-made but upheld by a higher principle—encouraging humility, gratitude, and devotion to the divine sustainer (often understood in the Purāṇic frame as the Lord who supports prāṇa).
Indirectly, it aligns with Vedic physiological and ritual understanding where prāṇa is central to life and offerings (prāṇāyāma and breath-regulation in practice), but the verse itself is primarily a tattva teaching rather than a technical Vedāṅga instruction.